93% of Britons would vote for a black political leader, according to recent research by Theos, the public theology think tank.

The finding comes in a Theos/ComRes poll of over a thousand adults taken between 17 and 19 October 2008 (before Barack Obama's election win).  

In an interview in The Times newspaper today, Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said a British Barack Obama would find it hard to become prime minister. Mr Phillips described what he saw as "institutional resistance" to selecting black and Asian candidates in political parties.

However, in terms of the general public, the Theos research indicates that they would support a more diverse field of candidates than their US counterparts.

Following a USA Today/Gallup poll in 2007, which asked the American public what they thought about these and related issues, the Theos poll explored the opinions of British voters. The Theos poll, published to coincide with the US elections, asked people whether, if all other qualities were acceptable to them, they would vote for a political leader, such as a president or prime minister, of a particular race, religion or age.

In some instances Britons and Americans are very similar. 5% of British voters would not vote for a black leader on principle (exactly the same as in the States), 7% would not vote for a woman (compared with 11% in the States), and 43% would not vote for a leader who was 72 years of age (compared with 42% in the States).

In other areas there are big differences. 7% of Britons would not vote for a divorced person (compared with 30% in the States), 23% would not vote for a gay or lesbian leader (compared with 43% in the States), and 20% of the British public would not vote for a political leader who was an atheist (compared with 53% in the States).