Concern about economy at all time high.

The economy has once again risen to the top of Ipsos's Issues Index in September 2008, with over half of British adults (55%) saying it is one of the most important issues facing Britain, an increase of 14 points from last month. This is the highest score we have ever recorded for this issue (our trends date back to 1974). In addition, concern about unemployment is at the highest it has been since November 2001: it is at 11%, an increase of four points from last month.

The economy has once again risen to the top of Ipsos's Issues Index in September 2008, with over half of British adults (55%) saying it is one of the most important issues facing Britain, an increase of 14 points from last month. This is the highest score we have ever recorded for this issue (our trends date back to 1974). In addition, concern about unemployment is at the highest it has been since November 2001: it is at 11%, an increase of four points from last month.

Concern about crime remains high, with two in five people saying it is an important issue (40%), although the proportion mentioning this issue has dropped seven points since August (in the face of rising concerns about the economy). Race relations/immigration is the third most frequently mentioned issue, with over a quarter of British adults saying it is important (27%), an increase of two points since August.

It appears that some of these increases are at the expense of other issues which, until now, have been at the top of the public's concern. For example, just over one in ten (12%) mention education/schools as an important issue, the lowest score since March 1990. In addition, concern about defence/foreign affairs/terrorism is the lowest score since July 2002, also at 12%.

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Technical Note

Ipsos interviewed a representative quote sample of 997 adults aged 18+ at 203 sampling points across Great Britain. Interviews were completed face to face on 18th - 23rd September 2008.  Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.

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