British Public Opinion, August 1978
MORI interviewed a representative interlocking quota sample of 1,070 adults aged 18+. Interviews were conducted face-to-face in 54 constituency sampling points across Great Britain on 14 August 1978.
Q1 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way the government is running the country? Q2 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Mr Callaghan is doing his job as Prime Minister? Q3 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Mrs Thatcher is doing her job as Leader of the Opposition?
| Government | Callaghan | Thatcher | |
|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | |
| Satisfied | 36 | 51 | 41 |
| Dissatisfied | 54 | 41 | 47 |
| Don't know | 10 | 8 | 12 |
Q4 How would you vote if there were a General Election tomorrow? (If undecided or refused at Q4) Q5 Which party are you most inclined to support? Base: All expressing a voting intention
| Q4/5 Voting intention | |
|---|---|
| % | |
| Conservative | 47 |
| Labour | 44 |
| Liberal | 6 |
| Other | 4 |
Q6 What would you say is the most important issue facing Britain today? Q7 And what other issues do you think are particularly important in Britain today? What others? Any others? (Unprompted answers)
| Q6 Most important | Q6/Q7 Combined | |
|---|---|---|
| % | % | |
| Prices/cost of living/inflation | 35 | 63 |
| Unemployment | 28 | 55 |
| Immigration/race relations | 9 | 27 |
| Trade Unions/strikes/industrial disputes | 9 | 25 |
| Law & order | 6 | 23 |
| Common Market | 3 | 9 |
| Schools/education | 2 | 15 |
| Housing/rates/rent | 2 | 12 |
| National Health Service | 2 | 11 |
| Pensions | 2 | 10 |
| Nationalisation/public ownership | 2 | 7 |
| Northern Ireland | 1 | 7 |
| Rhodesia | * | 3 |
| (Other and "don't know" responses not recorded) | ||
Q8 I am going to read out a list of issues facing people in Britain today. Would you please tell me which political party you think has the best policies on each one?
| Cons- ervative | Labour | Liberal | National Front | Other/ don't know | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common Market | % | 32 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 35 |
| Nationalisation | % | 42 | 32 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
| Law & order | % | 42 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 21 |
| Inflation/prices | % | 31 | 40 | 3 | * | 26 |
| Immigration | % | 50 | 21 | 3 | 5 | 21 |
| Strikes/industrial relations | % | 32 | 41 | 3 | * | 24 |
| Unemployment | % | 36 | 29 | 3 | * | 34 |
| National Health Service | % | 33 | 39 | 3 | * | 25 |
| Housing | % | 39 | 33 | 2 | * | 26 |
| Rhodesia | % | 27 | 19 | 1 | * | 53 |
| Education | % | 48 | 30 | 2 | * | 20 |
Q9 Do you think that the general economic condition of the country will improve, stay the same, or get worse over the next 12 months?
| % | |
|---|---|
| Improve | 32 |
| Stay the same | 29 |
| Get worse | 34 |
| Don't know | 5 |
| Net economic optimism (improve minus get worse) | -2 |
Q10 Do you think that the Prime Minister should call an election for this October, or should he wait to have the election next year, in 1979?
| % | |
|---|---|
| October this year | 61 |
| Next year, 1979 | 31 |
| Don't know | 8 |
