British Public Opinion, February 1979

Public Sector

Opinion Poll conducted for the Daily Express

 

MORI interviewed a representative interlocking quota sample of 1,030 adults aged 18+. Interviews were conducted face-to-face in 52 constituency sampling points across Great Britain on 30 January-1 February 1979.

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 17 31 45
Dissatisfied 75 62 40
Don't know 7 7 15

 

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 (871)

  %
Conservative 55
Labour 36
Liberal 6
Other 3

 

Q6 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 20
Stay the same 21
Get worse 53
Don't know 7
Net economic optimism (improve minus get worse) -33

 

Q7 What would you say is the most important issue facing Britain today? Q8 And what other issues do you think are particularly important in Britain today? What others? (Unprompted answers)

  Q7 Most important Q7/Q8 Combined
  % %
Law & order  3 14
Housing/rates/rent  1 9
Immigration/race relations  1 10
National Health Service 2 15
Nationalisation/public ownership  1 5
Northern Ireland  1 5
Pensions  1 5
Prices/cost of living/inflation  30 66
Rhodesia * 1
Schools/education 1 9
Common Market  2 9
Trade Unions/strikes/industrial disputes 51 73
Unemployment  10 31

 

Q9 I am going to read out a list of issues facing people in Britain today. From this card, would you please tell me which political party you think has the best policies on each one.

  Inflation/ prices Strikes/ industrial relations Unemployment
  % % %
Conservative 39 39 39
Labour 27 26 24
Liberal 5 3 3
Other/Don't know 29 32 34

 

Q10 Which of the following groups of workers do you think should be given more than a 5% pay increase and which do you think should be held to the 5% limit?

  More than 5% Held to 5% Don't know
  % % %
Ambulancemen 80 15 5
Dustmen 40 50 9
Electricity workers 17 71 12
Health service manual workers 68 25 7
Lorry drivers 28 63 9
London underground drivers 17 58 25
Miners 23 71 6
Train drivers 21 65 13
Social workers 44 43 13
Water & sewage workers 51 32 17

 

Q11 Do you think that the government should continue to try to hold pay rises to 5%, or not?

  %
Should 55
Should not 38
Don't know 7

 

Q12 Do you think that the Government should or should not use troops to provide a basic service if there is a strike in a key industry?

  %
Should 78
Should not 17
Don't know 5

 

Q13 It has recently been suggested that changes should be made in the laws affecting trade unions. I am going to read out a number of these suggestions and, for each one, I would like you to tell me whether you agree or disagree with this suggestion.

  Agree Disagree Don't know
  % % %
A ban on secondary picketing; that is, a ban on picketing of a company not directly involved in a strike 89 7 4
Removal of the right of those in key industries to strike, in return for guaranteed wage increases 63 25 12
No strikes to be called until there is a postal ballot of union members concerned 89 4 7
A limit on the number of pickets allowed at any location 82 11 7
The introduction of postal ballots in the election of union officials, to be paid for by the government 65 21 14
That social security benefits paid to strikers' families should be subject to income tax 65 24 11

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