The report by Queen Mary University of London found 54% of Conservatives were in favour of the death penalty compared to 23% of SNP supporters, 9% of Labour activists and 8% of Lib Dem backers.

In an interview with Sky News, a front-runner in the UKIP leadership contest, Paul Nuttall, was pining back to the golden era where we could hang people to death for their crimes.

Photo: Executioner: Pierrepoint. Albert Pierrepoint was Britain's most prolific hangman, ending the lives of 400 men and women - including Ruth Ellis.

"IF ENOUGH PEOPLE SIGNED A PETITION..."

Nuttall told that “if enough people” signed a petition to bring it back, he would be “quite committed to” triggering a referendum on the death penalty.

The survey found 48% were in favour of capital punishment, which was abolished in the UK in the 1960’s.