Confidence in the Government's Economic Policies 1980-Present
Q On balance, do you agree or disagree with the statement that "in the long term, this government's policies will improve the state of Britain's economy"?
Q On balance, do you agree or disagree with the statement that "in the long term, this government's policies will improve the state of Britain's economy"?
* EOI [(Economic Optimism Index)] figures are included for comparison purposes - where marked with an asterisk these were taken from a different poll in the same month
|
|
EOI* | Agree | Disagree | Net agree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ±% | % | % | ±% | |
| Geoffrey Howe | ||||
| July 1980 | -39 | 48 | 36 | +12 |
| May 1981 | -31 | 40 | 44 | -4 |
| November 1981 | -24 | 41 | 48 | -7 |
| March 1982 | -4 | 47 | 46 | +1 |
| 21-25 April 1983 | +6* | 58 | 34 | +24 |
| 17-18 May 1983 | +14* | 58 | 35 | +23 |
| 24-25 May 1983 | 58 | 37 | +21 | |
| 1-3 June 1983 | 58 | 36 | +22 | |
| Late June 1983 | +2 | 50 | 44 | +6 |
| Nigel Lawson | ||||
| March 1985 | -22 | 40 | 52 | -12 |
| March 1986 | -8 | 38 | 53 | -15 |
| March 1987 | +16 | 49 | 44 | +5 |
| 12-14 May 1987 | n/a | 60 | 35 | +25 |
| 3-4 June 1987 | +23* | 58 | 37 | +21 |
| March 1988 | +11 | 54 | 36 | +18 |
| March 1989 | -14 | 46 | 43 | +3 |
| John Major | ||||
| March 1990 | -42 | 34 | 55 | -21 |
| Norman Lamont | ||||
| March 1991 | -1 | 34 | 53 | -19 |
| March 1992 | +4 | 42 | 46 | -4 |
| March 1993 | -9 | 28 | 59 | -31 |
| Kenneth Clarke | ||||
| December 1993 | -6 | 29 | 58 | -29 |
| December 1994 | -16 | 24 | 64 | -40 |
| November 1995 | -18 | 23 | 64 | -41 |
| December 1995 | -16 | 24 | 63 | -39 |
| November 1996 | 0 | 34 | 52 | -18 |
| December 1996 | -9 | 31 | 55 | -24 |
| EOI* | Agree | Disagree | Net agree | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ±% | % | % | ±% | |
| Gordon Brown | ||||
| June 1997 | +19 | 55 | 24 | +31 |
| July 1997 | +10 | 57 | 24 | +33 |
| November 1997 | +6 | 56 | 27 | +29 |
| February 1998 | +2 | 52 | 31 | +21 |
| March 1998 | +4 | 54 | 29 | +25 |
| November 1998 | -31 | 46 | 33 | +13 |
| February 1999 | -15 | 49 | 31 | +18 |
| March 1999 | -6 | 49 | 32 | +17 |
| November 1999 | +4 | 47 | 34 | +13 |
| February 2000 | -10 | 42 | 39 | +3 |
| March 2000 | -5 | 42 | 39 | +3 |
| November 2000 | -6 | 43 | 42 | +1 |
| March 2001 | -29 | 48 | 36 | +12 |
| March 2002 | -21 | 39 | 42 | -3 |
| May 2002 | -22 | 45 | 40 | +5 |
| September 2002 | -23 | 41 | 43 | -2 |
| November 2002 | -27 | 35 | 45 | -10 |
| December 2002 | -40 | 38 | 44 | -6 |
| March 2003 | -39 | 36 | 43 | -7 |
| April 2003 | -18 | 40 | 40 | 0 |
| July 2003 | -22 | 32 | 53 | -21 |
| September 2003 | -23 | 34 | 51 | -17 |
| December 2003 | -20* | 37 | 48 | -11 |
| March 2004 | -18* | 38 | 49 | -11 |
| June 2004 | -25* | 39 | 48 | -9 |
| September 2004 | -22* | 39 | 47 | -8 |
| November 2004 | -23* | 40 | 46 | -6 |
| February 2005 | -11* | 43 | 43 | 0 |
| May 2005 | -20* | 47 | 38 | +9 |
| September 2005 | -35* | 39 | 50 | -11 |
| November 2005 | -27* | 41 | 44 | -3 |
| March 2006 | -28* | 38 | 48 | -10 |
| May 2006 | -30* | 38 | 51 | -13 |
| September 2006 | -31 | 40 | 46 | -6 |
| November 2006 | -33 | 39 | 51 | -12 |
| March 2007 | -39* | 37 | 50 | -13 |
| May 2007 | -20* | 44 | 41 | +3 |
| Alastair Darling | ||||
| September 2007 | -25* | 39 | 46 | -7 |
| November 2007 | -39* | 34 | 50 | -14 |
| September 2008 | -58 | 29 | 64 | -35 |
| June 2009 | +11 | 34 | 59 | -25 |
| November 2009 | +23 | 40 | 54 | -14 |
| EOI* | Agree | Disagree | Net agree | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ±% | % | % | ±% | |
| George Osborne | ||||
| June 2010 | -5 | 61 | 29 | +32 |
| September 2010 | -20 | 57 | 36 | +21 |
| October 2010 | -21 | 48 | 39 | +9 |
| January 2011 | -29 | 49 | 43 | +6 |
| March 2012 | -14 | 46 | 47 | -1 |
| March 2015 | +21 | 53 | 39 | +14 |
| November 2015 | -9 | 48 | 47 | +1 |
| March 2016 | -17 | 43 | 49 | -6 |
| EOI* | Agree | Disagree | Net agree | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ±% | % | % | ±% | |
| Phillip Hammond | ||||
| March 2017 | -28 | 44 | 50 | -6 |
| November 2017 | -43 | 41 | 54 | -13 |
| October 2018 | -47 | 35 | 56 | -21 |
| EOI* | Agree | Disagree | Net agree | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ±% | % | % | ±% | |
| Rishi Sunak | ||||
| November 2021 | -26 | 43 | 48 | -5 |
| March 2022 | -62 | 41 | 48 | -7 |
| EOI* | Agree | Disagree | Net agree | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ±% | % | % | ±% | |
| Rishi Sunak | ||||
| February 2023 | -38 | 33 | 59 | -26 |
