Most of the online surveys which purport to analyse one's political views place me as a socially liberal conservative.

Folk song has long been used to express political views, especially those on the left, and the folk music revival of the 50's and 60s was closely linked with left-wing politics and protest songs. Those with different views are perhaps less likely to turn to folk music as a vehicle to express them, and those who do may be greeted with hostility rather than debate. This arguably leads to a perception that because political songs and comments at folk events are most likely to be from a left-ish point of view it means that the whole of the audience is in sympathy.

I don't believe this is necessarily true. It assumes that music and politics are always interlinked, which for many people is not the case. It may be difficult for those whose interest in folk is inextricably tied up with their politics to understand that others may be interested in it for other reasons which do not involve politics. It is also possible to enjoy a performance, and to recognise the passion and songwriting skills used to put forward a point of view without necessarily agreeing with it. It is sometimes forgotten that in many cases both right and left recognise where there is social injustice but differ in the solutions they propose, so I may acknowledge the truth of the song whilst disagreeing what to do about it. And of course, many folk songs don't carry a political message at all.

It is probably true that a large proportion of a folk audience is more or less left-leaning politically, and certainly it appears that part of it feels more ready to express those views. In previous threads on this topic some have expressed surprise, even horror, that there might be folkies who aren't on the left. However most people go to folk events to enjoy the music, rather than get involved in political arguments, and simply ignore the politics. I suspect that there is a much broader range of political views than some believe, they are simply not expressed.