Spain heads to the polls on 29 November, and a new YouGov survey reveals what is really bothering voters. Spoiler alert: it is not just the politicians.
I live in Spain. I shop here, pay my bills here, complain about the price of olive oil here and occasionally wonder how a simple trip to the town hall can require quite so much paperwork.
But when Spain holds its general election on 29 November, I will be watching from the sidelines.
Like many foreign residents on the Costa Blanca, I cannot vote in a Spanish general election.
That does not mean I am uninterested. Quite the opposite. The decisions made in Madrid have a habit of finding their way into our lives, whether we have a ballot paper or not.
And judging by a new YouGov survey, Spanish voters have plenty on their minds.
But British and European residents can vote in local elections
Although British and other EU residents cannot vote in Spanish general elections unless they have Spanish nationality, they can vote in local council elections.
EU citizens living in Spain can register to vote in municipal elections, while British residents retain this right under a post-Brexit agreement between Spain and the UK.
To qualify, British citizens must be at least 18, registered on the local padrón, have lived legally and continuously in Spain for at least three years and be registered on the electoral roll.
EU citizens must also be registered on the padrón and declare their intention to vote in Spain. Registration can be arranged through the town hall or the Electoral Census Office (Oficina del Censo Electoral), and deadlines apply before each election.
So while we might not get a say in who runs Spain, we can still have a say in who runs our town, which, when it comes to rubbish collections, parking and local services, is no small thing!
The biggest issue? Somewhere to live
YouGov asked Spaniards about the country’s most pressing problems, and housing came out miles ahead.
A whopping 53% named housing as one of Spain’s two biggest issues.
Immigration followed at 35%, corruption and fraud at 28%, healthcare at 19% and the economy at 15%.
Now, those figures caught my attention.
Of course, we do not all experience the problem in the same way.
For some, rising property values are excellent news. For others, they are the reason moving out of their parents’ home feels about as achievable as buying a villa on the moon.
And there lies the difficulty. One person’s investment is another person’s unaffordable home.
Same country, very different worries
The YouGov figures also show just how differently people view Spain depending on their political preferences.
Among those intending to vote for Pedro Sánchez’s PSOE, 69% named housing as a major concern.
For supporters of the centre-right Partido Popular (PP), housing was important to 49%, with immigration close behind at 44%.
Among Vox supporters, immigration topped the list at 68%, followed by corruption at 41%. Housing came third at 31%.
It is rather fascinating.
Everyone is living in the same country, paying Spanish prices and dealing with Spanish bureaucracy, yet the problems they consider most urgent can look completely different.
Perhaps that is why political discussions in Spain can become so animated.
Are people voting for something, or against something?
This was the part of the survey I found particularly interesting.
When YouGov asked 2,175 people what most influenced their voting decisions, the most common answer was not a particular policy.
It was preventing a right-wing government.
That was the main motivation for 14% of respondents.
Another 9% said they wanted a change of government, while 8% mentioned corruption.
Among PSOE supporters, 39% said stopping a right-wing government was their biggest motivation.
Meanwhile, 22% of PP supporters and 15% of Vox supporters said their main reason was wanting a change of government.
In other words, a fair number of people appear to be voting not simply for what they want, but against what they fear.
And what about those of us who cannot vote?
This is where I find myself in a slightly peculiar position.
I have opinions about housing, healthcare, taxes, public transport and the state of the roads. I certainly have opinions about bureaucracy.
Yet I will not be putting a cross on a ballot paper.
British residents, along with many other non-EU nationals, cannot vote in Spanish general elections unless they have acquired Spanish nationality.
We can follow the debates, read the manifestos and discuss the results over coffee, but the final decision belongs to Spanish voters.
And rightly so, under the current electoral rules.
My vote? I would like a little less shouting
I am not going to tell anyone which party deserves their vote. That is their decision, not mine.
But I would quite like to see more serious discussion about the problems people actually face.
How do young people afford somewhere to live? How do we protect healthcare? How do we make sure public money is spent properly? And how do we balance immigration, economic needs and social cohesion without turning every conversation into a shouting match?
Those seem reasonable questions, whichever party you support.
The YouGov survey is a snapshot of public opinion, not a prediction of who will win.
But it does tell us something important: voters are worried about practical issues that affect their daily lives, even if they disagree strongly about which ones matter most.
So, on 29 November, I will not be heading to a polling station.
I will probably be having a coffee, following the results and hoping that whoever ends up in charge remembers something rather important.
Governing a country is about more than winning an argument.
And if the next government could make dealing with official paperwork a little easier, I suspect that might win a few fans too!
Bridging the Gap’s recap
- Spain is holding a general election on Sunday 29 November 2026.
- A YouGov survey published on 30 October examined Spanish voters’ biggest concerns and voting motivations.
- Housing was the leading concern, mentioned by 53% of respondents as one of the country’s two biggest problems.
- Immigration followed at 35%, corruption and fraud at 28%, healthcare at 19% and the economy at 15%.
- Housing was especially important among PSOE supporters, while immigration topped the concerns of Vox supporters.
- Preventing a right-wing government was the most frequently mentioned individual motivation for voting, at 14%.
- British residents without Spanish nationality cannot vote in Spanish general elections.
- The survey measures public concerns and motivations, not the election result.
