Election Postponement Poll
Vote intention poll for the Sun, following delay to 2001 general election.
- MORI Telephone Surveys interviewed 1,008 British adults aged 18+
- Interviews were conducted by telephone on 30 April - 1 May 2001
- Data are weighted to match the profile of the population
- An '*' indicates a finding of less than 0.5%, but greater than zero
- Poll conducted by MORI on behalf of The Sun
- Unless otherwise stated, results are based on all
Q1 As you may know, until the outbreak of Foot & Mouth Disease everybody thought the General Election would be on Thursday May 3rd. If the election had been held this Thursday, on May 3rd, what do you think the outcome would have been?
| A large majority for Labour (Labour majority of over 100 MPs) |  19% |
| A medium-sized majority for Labour (Labour majority of 51-100 MPs) | 33% |
| A small majority for Labour (Labour majority of up to 50 MPs) | 15% |
| No overall majority for either party |  3% |
| A small majority for the Conservatives (Conservative majority of up to 50 MPs) |  4% |
| A medium-sized majority for the Conservatives (Conservative majority of 51-100 MPs) | 2% |
| A large majority for the Conservatives (Conservative majority of over 100 MPs) | 1% |
| Don't know |  23% |
Q2 If the election were held this Thursday, how likely would you have been to vote in the General Election?
| Certain to vote |  55% |
| Very likely to vote |  16% |
| Quite likely to vote |  10% |
| Not very likely to vote | 7% |
| Certain not to vote |  10% |
| Don't know | 2% |
QV3 And how would you vote if there were a General Election on Thursday?(If undecided or refused at QV3)QV4 Which party would you be most inclined to support?
| Conservative | 32% |
| Labour | 50% |
| Liberal Democrats |  13% |
| Scottish/Welsh Nationalist |  2% |
| Green Party | 2% |
| Democratic/UKIP/Referendum Party |  *% |
| Other | 1% |
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| |
| Would not vote | 7% |
| Undecided | 6% |
| Refused | 5% |
Q5 As you may be aware, the Government decided that, due to the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in Britain, all elections due to take place on 3rd May should be delayed until 7th June. In your opinion, should the Government have held the elections on 3rd May or postponed them to 7th June?
| Should have held on 3rd May | 17% |
| Should have held on 7th June | 56% |
| No difference | 7% |
| Should have waited until outbreak is over | 17% |
| Don't know/No opinion | 4% |
Q6 If the General Election was held this Thursday, what, if any, issues would be very important to you in helping you decide which party to vote for?
| Animal welfare | 2% |
| Defence | 1% |
| Education | 29% |
| Europe | 5% |
| Foot and mouth disease | 6% |
| Health care | 33% |
| Housing | 2% |
| Law and order | 8% |
| Managing the economy | 9% |
| Northern Ireland | 0% |
| Pensions | 10% |
| Protecting the natural environment | 4% |
| Public transport | 5% |
| Taxation | 10% |
| Trade unions | *% |
| Unemployment | 3% |
| Other | 17% |
| None | 10% |
| Don't know/no answer | 16% |
Q7 I am going to read out a number of different things the next Government could do. Please tell which one or two, if any, of these, should be the top priorities for the next Government?
| Enter the Single European Currency | 7% |
| Ban Fox Hunting | 8% |
| Reduce school class sizes | 38% |
| Cut hospital waiting lists | 69% |
| Keep interest rates low | 16% |
| Put more policemen on the beat | 39% |
| Other | 2% |
| Don't know | 1% |
Q8 I am going to read out a list of politicians. For each one you know, would you say they are a strength or a weakness to their party?
| Strength | Weakness | Don't knowpolitician | Don't know | |
| % | % | % | % | |
| Tony Blair | 66 | 24 | 3 | 7 |
| David Blunkett | 49 | 20 | 19 | 11 |
| Gordon Brown | 63 | 18 | 10 | 9 |
| Robin Cook | 25 | 52 | 12 | 12 |
| John Prescott | 36 | 44 | 10 | 10 |
| Jack Straw | 44 | 29 | 13 | 14 |
| Ken Clarke | 39 | 26 | 20 | 15 |
| David Davis | 6 | 9 | 77 | 8 |
| William Hague | 23 | 64 | 5 | 8 |
| Michael Portillo | 35 | 45 | 11 | 9 |
| Ann Widdecombe | 47 | 30 | 14 | 9 |
| Charles Kennedy | 39 | 19 | 28 | 14 |
Q9 Thinking about Tony Blair, please tell me which one of each of these pairs of descriptions you feel fits him best?Q10 Thinking about William Hague, please tell me which one of each of these pairs of descriptions you feel fits him best?
| Tony Blair | William Hague | |
| % | % | |
| Honest | 62 | 59 |
| Dishonest | 29 | 27 |
| Don't know | 9 | 14 |
| Principled | 65 | 58 |
| Unprincipled | 27 | 29 |
| Don't know | 8 | 13 |
| Arrogant | 44 | 47 |
| Not arrogant | 51 | 45 |
| Don't know | 5 | 8 |
| In touch | 51 | 31 |
| Out of touch | 44 | 59 |
| Don't know | 5 | 10 |
Q11 If the Conservatives should lose the next General Election and William Hague steps down as party leader, who would you like to see lead the Conservative Party?
| Ken Clark | 10% |
| David Davis | *% |
| Liam Fox | *% |
| Michael Heseltine | 5% |
| Francis Maude | *% |
| Michael Portillo | 13% |
| John Redwood | 2% |
| Gillian Shephard | 1% |
| Margaret Thatcher | 4% |
| Ann Widdecomb | 7% |
| Other | 5% |
| Don't know | 53% |
Q12-14 How would you vote if there were a General Election on Thursday, if Michael Portillo / Kenneth Clarke / Ann Widdecomb were leader of the Conservative Party?
| MichaelPortillo | KennethClarke | AnnWiddecombe | |
| % | % | % | |
| Conservative | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| Labour | 36 | 35 | 35 |
| Liberal Democrat | 10 | 10 | 11 |
| Other | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Would not vote | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| Undecided | 12 | 14 | 15 |
| Refused | 5 | 5 | 4 |
And now on the question of Europe ...
Q15 If there were a referendum now on whether Britain should stay in or get out of the European Union, how would you vote?
| Stay in | 48% |
| Get out | 43% |
| Don't know | 9% |
| Rebased excluding don't knows [923] | |
| Stay in | 53% |
| Get out | 47% |
Q16 In a referendum, would you vote for or against Britain replacing the pound sterling with the single European currency?
| Vote for | 24% |
| Vote against | 70% |
| Don't know | 7% |
| Rebased excluding don't knows [938] | |
| Stay in | 25% |
| Get out | 75% |
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