Attitudes Towards Party Leaders
Ipsos's weekend telephone poll shows that the public are increasingly distrustful of David Cameron, Sir Menzies Campbell and Gordon Brown. While Tony Blair's trust rating is virtually unchanged from September 2006, the percent of people rating Cameron 'not trustworthy' has increased 17 points. Campbell sees a similar 'not trustworthy' increase of 11 points, and Brown of 10 points. This is the lowest rating yet for Gordon Brown, and means he will start as Prime Minister with a lower trust rating than Blair had after three years as Prime Minister.
These findings reflect the fact that the 'bounce' Blair received after announcing his resignation still holds -- but does not extend to his Labour colleague Gordon Brown. And all leaders suffer from a lack of trust within their own parties: 22% of Conservative supporters do not trust Cameron, 23% of Labour supporters don't trust Brown and 28% of Liberal Democrat supporters don't trust Campbell.
The public are divided equally on whether they would go for a pint with David Cameron or Gordon Brown -- 38% would choose David Cameron and 37% Gordon Brown.
Technical details
- Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 977 adults in Great Britain aged 18+.
- Interviews were conducted by telephone between 8-10 June 2007.
- Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.
- Full data tabulations (weighted and unweighted) are available upon request.
Topline Results
Q1 In general would you describe each of the following politicians as trustworthy or not?
| Trustworthy | Not trustworthy | Don't know | Net | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | |
| Tony Blair | 31 | 61 | 8 | -30 |
| David Cameron | 34 | 46 | 21 | -12 |
| Menzies Campbell | 34 | 33 | 33 | +1 |
| Gordon Brown | 37 | 49 | 14 | -12 |
Trustworthiness of Politicians Trends
Q Who would you rather go to the pub for a drink with -- David Cameron or Gordon Brown?
| % | |
|---|---|
| David Cameron | 38 |
| Gordon Brown | 37 |
| Don't know | 25 |
