LONDON — The British parliamentary elections are less than 100 days away, and they are a mess — at least five parties in a fragmented system designed for two, and absolute rule by the winner.
In 1951, the two main parties, Conservative and Labour, won 97 percent of the vote; current opinion polls suggest that they will be lucky now to win 65 percent.
No one expects any party to win an overall majority on May 7. The resulting hung Parliament will mean either a fragile minority government or another European-style coalition. It is not even clear whether David Cameron of the Conservatives, the incumbent, or Ed Miliband of Labour will be the prime minister.
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The Chatham House study was based on an August YouGov poll of a representative sample of 2,059 adults, using an online opt-in panel that does not meet The New York Times’ methodological standards. But the results are indicative, and the poll of 704 opinion formers was not designed, of course, to be random.
A version of this article appears in print on February 1, 2015, on page A9 of the New York edition with the headline: Public Survey Highlights Britons’ Global Ambitions. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe
