WARWICK, England, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- A study of British lottery winners found those who have won significant sums are more likely to vote for the Conservative Party than those who have not.
Researchers from Warwick University in England and Melbourne University in Australia tracked 4,000 people who won between 1996 and 2009, the Daily Telegraph reported. They found that 45 percent of those who won at least 500 pounds ($800) voted Conservative, compared to 38 percent of those who had not.
Almost one in five winners -- 18 percent -- said they switched to voting Conservative immediately.
"We are not sure exactly what goes on inside people's brains but it seems that having money causes people to favor conservative right-wing ideas," said Nick Powdthavee of Melbourne University. "Humans are creatures of flexible ethics."
Male winners were more likely to become conservative -- or Conservative -- than women.
