The Falklands War - Panel Survey

Falklands Panel: Technical details

Note: the Falklands War lasted from 2 April 1982, when the Argentine Navy with thousands of troops landed on the Falklands, until 14 June 1982 when the large Argentine garrison in Port Stanley was defeated, effectively ending the conflict.

Panel 1 (Baseline Survey): MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,018 adults aged 18+ on 14 April 1982. Interviews were conducted face-to-face at 53 constituency sampling points across Great Britain. Data were weighted to match the profile of the population. The survey was conducted for The Economist. (This was just under a fortnight after the Argentinian invasion of the Falklands on 2 April, and during General Haig's attempts to mediate a peaceful solution.)

Panel 2: MORI re-interviewed 463 of the original 1,018 respondents from the baseline survey on 20-21 April 1982. Interviews were conducted by telephone. Data were weighted to match the profile of the original sample. The survey was conducted for The Economist.

Panel 3: MORI re-interviewed 447 of the original 1,018 respondents from the baseline survey on 23-24 April 1982. Interviews were conducted by telephone. Data were weighted to match the profile of the original sample. The survey was conducted for BBC Panorama.

Panel 4: MORI re-interviewed 526 of the original 1,018 respondents from the baseline survey on 3-5 May 1982. Interviews were conducted by telephone (413) and face-to-face (113). Data were weighted to match the profile of the original sample. The survey was conducted for The Economist. (This was after the sinking of the General Belgrano; most interviews were conducted before the sinking of HMS Sheffield.)

Panel 5: MORI re-interviewed 400 of the original 1,018 respondents from the baseline survey on 25-26 May 1982. Interviews were conducted by telephone. Data were weighted to match the profile of the original sample. The survey was conducted for The Economist.

Panel 6: MORI re-interviewed 401 of the original 1,018 respondents from the baseline survey on 21-23 June 1982. Interviews were conducted by telephone (319) and face-to-face (82). Data were weighted to match the profile of the original sample. The survey was conducted for The Economist. (This was a week after Argentina's surrender.)

Results

Q Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way the Government is running the country?

	14 Apr 1982
	%
Satisfied	34
Dissatisfied	58
Don't know	8

Q Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Mrs Thatcher is doing her job as Prime Minister?

	14 Apr 1982
	%
Satisfied	40
Dissatisfied	54
Don't know	6

Q How would you vote if there were a general election tomorrow? Q (If Undecided / Refused) Which party are you most inclined to support?

	14 Apr 1982	20-21 Apr 1982	23-24 Apr 1982	3-5 May 1982	25-26 May 1982	21-23 June 1982
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Conservative	33	36	39	38	51	51
Labour	34	30	32	32	25	24
Liberal / SDP Alliance (combined)	30	31	27	28	23	23
Other	3	3	2	2	2	1
Excludes:
Would not vote	6	4	4	n/a	n/a	3
Undecided	4	5	6	n/a	n/a	5
Refused	5	5	n/a	n/a	n/a	*

Q What would you say is the most important issue facing Britain today?

	14 Apr 1982	3-5 May 1982
	%	%
Falklands situation	39	61
Unemployment	39	25
Prices / inflation	8	3
Defence / Foreign Affairs	2
Law & order / riots	2
Trade unions / strikes	2

(Others below 1% omitted)

Q Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way the Government are now handling the situation in the Falkland Islands?*

	14 Apr 1982	20-21 Apr 1982	23-24 Apr 1982	3-5 May 1982	25-26 May 1982	21-23 June 1982
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Satisfied	60	68	76	71	84	84
Dissatisfied	30	24	20	25	14	13
Don't know	10	8	4	4	2	3

* "... the way the Government handled..." on 21-23 June

Q Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way the Labour Party is responding to the Government's handling of the situation in the Falkland Islands?*

	14 Apr 1982	3-5 May 1982	25-26 May 1982	21-23 June 1982
	%	%	%	%
Satisfied	40	26	37	34
Dissatisfied	39	62	53	56
Don't know	21	12	10	10

* "... the way the Labour Party responded..." on 21-23 June

Q Do you think the Government should call a General Election now or not?

	14 Apr 1982	3-5 May 1982	21-23 June 1982
	%	%	%
Yes	29	16	16
No	68	78	80
Don't know	3	6	4

Q Do you think Mrs Thatcher should resign as Prime Minister over the situation in the Falkland Islands or not?

	14 Apr 1982	23-24 Apr 1982
	%	%
Yes	34	27
No	62	67
Don't know	4	6

Q Do you think the Defence Secretary, John Nott, should resign?

	14 Apr 1982
	%
Yes	43
No	44
Don't know	13

Q Do you think Lord Carrington should have resigned as Foreign Secretary?

	14 Apr 1982
	%
Yes	48
No	45
Don't know	7

Q Should Britain take / have taken the following measures over the Falklands Islands situation? Sever diplomatic relations with Argentina

	14 Apr 1982
	%
Yes	71
No	22
Don't know	7

Q Should Britain take / have taken the following measures over the Falklands Islands situation? Ban Argentinian imports into Great Britain

	14 Apr 1982
	%
Yes	84
No	12
Don't know	3

Q Should Britain take / have taken the following measures over the Falklands Islands situation? Freeze Argentinian assets in British banks

	14 Apr 1982
	%
Yes	82
No	11
Don't know	7

Q Should Britain take / have taken the following measures over the Falklands Islands situation? Intern Argentinian citizens residing in Great Britain

	14 Apr 1982
	%
Yes	24
No	68
Don't know	8

Q Should Britain take / have taken the following measures over the Falklands Islands situation? Sent the naval task force to the Falkland Islands

	14 Apr 1982	20-21 Apr 1982	3-5 May 1982
	%	%	%
Yes	83	85	85
No	13	10	10
Don't know	3	5	5

Q Should Britain take / have taken the following measures over the Falklands Islands situation? Imposed the 200-mile naval blockade of the Falklands

	14 Apr 1982
	%
Yes	80
No	14
Don't know	6

Q Should Britain take / have taken the following measures over the Falklands Islands situation? Allow the UN to take over administration of the Falkland Islands

	14 Apr 1982	20-21 Apr 1982	23-24 Apr 1982	3-5 May 1982
	%	%	%	%
Yes	45	42	40	49
No	42	46	50	41
Don't know	13	12	10	10

Q Should Britain take / have taken the following measures over the Falklands Islands situation? Evacuated all British subjects from the Falklands

	14 Apr 1982
	%
Yes	49
No	41
Don't know	10

Q Should Britain take / have taken the following measures over the Falklands Islands situation? Sink Argentinian ships in Falkland waters

	14 Apr 1982	20-21 Apr 1982	23-24 Apr 1982	25-26 May 1982
	%	%	%	%
Yes	52	55	58	79
No	39	35	35	18
Don't know	9	11	6	3

Q Should Britain take / have taken the following measures over the Falklands Islands situation? Land troops on the Falklands

	14 Apr 1982	20-21 Apr 1982	23-24 Apr 1982	3-5 May 1982	25-26 May 1982
	%	%	%	%	%
Yes	67	65	65	72	89
No	24	25	26	22	10
Don't know	9	10	9	6	1

Q Should Britain take / have taken the following measures over the Falklands Islands situation? Bomb Argentinian military and naval bases

	14 Apr 1982	20-21 Apr 1982	23-24 Apr 1982	3-5 May 1982
	%	%	%	%
Yes	28	34	33	38
No	63	57	58	57
Don't know	9	9	9	5

Q Should Britain take / have taken the following measures over the Falklands Islands situation? Use nuclear weapons against Argentina

	14 Apr 1982
	%
Yes	5
No	93
Don't know	2

Q Should Britain take / have taken the following measures over the Falklands Islands situation? Land troops/invade the Argentinian mainland

	14 Apr 1982
	%
Yes	21
No	73
Don't know	6

Q Should Britain take / have taken the following measures over the Falklands Islands situation? Use military force to regain British sovereignty in the Falklands in spite of American pressure

	14 Apr 1982	20-21 Apr 1982	23-24 Apr 1982
	%	%	%
Yes	68	66	69
No	24	26	24
Don't know	8	8	6

Q During the Falkland Islands situation has your opinion of ... gone up, gone down or stayed the same?

	14 Apr 1982
	Gone up	Gone down	Stayed the same	Don't know
	%	%	%	%
Mrs Thatcher, the Prime Minister	12	27	59	1
Lord Carrington, former Foreign Secretary	10	34	47	8
Francis Pym, current Foreign Secretary	16	11	45	28
John Nott, Defence Secretary	6	37	43	14
Michael Foot, Opposition Leader	9	24	60	7
Denis Healey, Shadow Foreign Secretary	8	16	67	9
Tony Benn, Labour MP	6	34	51	8
David Owen, SDP Foreign Affairs Spokesman	16	11	60	13
Ronald Reagan, President of the USA	8	28	55	9

Q During the Falkland Islands situation has your opinion of ... gone up, gone down or stayed the same?

	20-21 Apr 1982
	Gone up	Gone down	Stayed the same	Don't know
	%	%	%	%
Mrs Thatcher	15	14	69	2
Francis Pym, current Foreign Secretary	14	8	57	21
Alexander Haig, American Secretary of State	31	15	43	11

Q During the Falkland Islands situation has your opinion of ... gone up, gone down or stayed the same?

	23-24 Apr 1982
	Gone up	Gone down	Stayed the same	Don't know
	%	%	%	%
Mrs Thatcher	20	15	64	1
Francis Pym, current Foreign Secretary	22	8	56	15
Alexander Haig, American Secretary of State	26	17	49	8

Q During the Falkland Islands situation has your opinion of ... gone up, gone down or stayed the same?

	21-23 June 1982
	Gone up	Gone down	Stayed the same	Don't know
	%	%	%	%
Mrs Thatcher, the Prime Minister	45	7	48	*
Francis Pym, current Foreign Secretary	27	6	61	6
John Nott, Defence Secretary	22	13	60	4
Michael Foot, Opposition Leader	4	47	45	3
Denis Healey, Shadow Foreign Secretary	10	16	67	7
Tony Benn, Labour MP	6	56	34	4
David Owen, SDP Foreign Affairs Spokesman	22	8	60	10
Ronald Reagan, President of the USA	11	34	52	3
Roy Jenkins, SDP MP	2	13	76	9

Q (Apr / May) Do you favour or oppose the proposal that the Falkland Islands should become Argentinian territory, but leased back to the British government for administration? Q (Jun) Which of these options do you think are acceptable as a long term settlement to the Falklands situation, and which are not acceptable? The Falklands should become Argentinian sovereign territory, but leased back to the British government for administration.

	14 Apr 1982	3-5 May 1982	21-23 Jun 1982
	%	%	%
Favour / Acceptable	26	23	11
Oppose / Unacceptable	63	64	86
Don't know	11	13	3

Q Which of these options do you think are acceptable as a long term settlement to the Falklands situation, and which are not acceptable? The UN should take over trusteeship of the islands.

	21-23 Jun 1982
	%
Acceptable	39
Unacceptable	53
Don't know	8

Q Which of these options do you think are acceptable as a long term settlement to the Falklands situation, and which are not acceptable? British sovereignty of the Falklands should be retained, backed up by British military and naval presence.

	21-23 Jun 1982
	%
Acceptable	77
Unacceptable	18
Don't know	5

Q Which of these options do you think are acceptable as a long term settlement to the Falklands situation, and which are not acceptable? The Falkland Islands should become an independent state, protected by Britain.

	21-23 Jun 1982
	%
Acceptable	67
Unacceptable	29
Don't know	5

Q Do you think that retaining British sovereignty over the Falklands is important enough to justify the loss of Falkland Islanders' lives as a result of British military action?

	14 Apr 1982	20-21 Apr 1982	23-24 Apr 1982	3-5 May 1982
	%	%	%	%
Yes, important enough	36	38	46	45
No, not important enough	55	50	46	48
Don't know	9	12	8	7

Q Do you think that retaining British sovereignty over the Falklands is important enough to justify the loss of British service men's lives?

	14 Apr 1982	20-21 Apr 1982	23-24 Apr 1982	3-5 May 1982	25-26 May 1982
	%	%	%	%	%
Yes, important enough	44	51	58	53	62
No, not important enough	49	42	37	43	34
Don't know	7	8	5	4	4

Q Do you think that retaining British sovereignty over the Falklands, if they are regained, is important enough to pay increased taxes to maintain military and naval forces to protect them?*

	14 Apr 1982	3-5 May 1982	21-23 Jun 1982
	%	%	%
Yes, important enough	58	59	71
No, not important enough	36	34	24
Don't know	6	7	5

* Q on 21-23 June omitted "if they are regained"

Q How much do you personally care whether Britain regains sovereignty over the Falkland Islands or not?

	14 Apr 1982	23-24 Apr 1982	3-5 May 1982	25-26 May 1982
	%	%	%	%
Care very much	51	54	51	54
Care a little	32	31	32	28
Don't care at all	14	12	13	n/a
Don't know	3	4	3	n/a

Q Which of these outcomes do you think is most likely?

	14 Apr 1982
	%
Argentina will take her troops out of the Falklands and Britain's sovereignty will be returned without a fight	20
Argentina will agree to lease the Falklands to Britain without force being used by Britain	16
No diplomatic solution will be found in time, and Britain will have to fight a naval battle in the Falklands to regain its sovereignty	25
British troops will be forced to land on the Falkland Islands to reclaim the Falklands	25
Britain will be forced to back down and never regain the Falkland Islands	6
Other	2
Don't know	6

Q As you know, there have now been proposals made for settling the Falklands Island situation. Would you favour or oppose a joint Argentinian-British civil administration over the Falklands with America as overseers and islanders involved?

	20-21 Apr 1982
	%
Favour	39
Oppose	49
Don't know	12

Q Would you favour or oppose: Both the Argentinian and British flags to fly over the Falklands?

	20-21 Apr 1982
	%
Favour	32
Oppose	54
Don't know	13

Q Would you favour or oppose: The Falkland Islanders themselves to have the final say over the issue of the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands?

	20-21 Apr 1982	21-23 Jun 1982
	%	%
Favour	77	72
Oppose	15	24
Don't know	8	4

Q Do you think Falkland Islanders should be permitted to sell their farms to Argentinians, or not?

	21-23 Jun 1982
	%
Yes, should be allowed	33
No, should not be allowed	58
Don't know	9

Q I'm going to read out some statements people have made about the Falklands situation, and would like to ask you whether you agree or disagree with each. "Britain should go to war with Argentina to re-establish sole administration over the Falkland Islands, even if this involves considerable loss of life on both sides"

	23-24 Apr 1982
	%
Agree	50
Disagree	46
Don't know	4

Q I'm going to read out some statements people have made about the Falklands situation, and would like to ask you whether you agree or disagree with each. "Britain should go to war with Argentina in order to ensure that the Union Jack is the only flag flying on the Falklands, even if this involves considerable loss of life on both sides"

	23-24 Apr 1982
	%
Agree	46
Disagree	49
Don't know	4

Q I'm going to read out some statements people have made about the Falklands situation, and would like to ask you whether you agree or disagree with each. "An agreement between Britain and Argentina must include the Falkland Islanders right to have the final say"

	23-24 Apr 1982
	%
Agree	83
Disagree	15
Don't know	3

Q I'm going to read out some statements people have made about the Falklands situation, and would like to ask you whether you agree or disagree with each. "Britain should be prepared to fire the first shot, even if diplomatic talks are still taking place"

	23-24 Apr 1982
	%
Agree	43
Disagree	51
Don't know	6

Q I'm going to read out some statements people have made about the Falklands situation, and would like to ask you whether you agree or disagree with each. "It is wrong to go to war now, if the government is willing to give up the Falkland Islands in the long term"

	23-24 Apr 1982
	%
Agree	57
Disagree	35
Don't know	8

Q Should Britain have bombed the Port Stanley airport on the Falkland Islands, or not?

	3-5 May 1982
	%
Should	81
Should not	14
Don't know	5

Q Should Britain have sunk the Argentinian cruiser with about 1,000 men on board outside the 200-mile zone or not?

	3-5 May 1982
	%
Should	46
Should not	44
Don't know	10

Q Do you think in their handling of the situation in the Falklands the government has been too willing to use military force, not willing enough or has it been about right?

	3-5 May 1982	25-26 May 1982
	%	%
Too willing	25	16
Not willing enough	7	12
About right	64	70
Don't know	4	2

Q On balance, do you think world opinion of Britain has gone up, gone down or remained unchanged during the Falklands dispute?

	25-26 May 1982
	%
Gone up	38
Gone down	19
Remained unchanged	34
Don't know	9

Q Do you think the United Nations has done enough to help solve the dispute over the Falklands, or not? Q. And have the United States of America done enough to help solve the dispute, or not? Q. And the members of the Common Market?

	25-26 May 1982
	UN	USA	EEC
	%	%	%
Done enough	32	50	50
Not done enough	62	47	42
Don't know	6	3	8

Q If Britain recaptures the Falklands, which of these options do you feel are acceptable as a long-term settlement, and which are not acceptable? The Falklands should become Argentinian sovereign territory but leased back to the British government for administration.

	25-26 May 1982
	%
Acceptable	21
Not acceptable	74
Don't know	5

Q If Britain recaptures the Falklands, which of these options do you feel are acceptable as a long-term settlement, and which are not acceptable? The United Nations should take over trusteeship of the islands

	25-26 May 1982
	%
Acceptable	51
Not acceptable	43
Don't know	6

Q If Britain recaptures the Falklands, which of these options do you feel are acceptable as a long-term settlement, and which are not acceptable? British sovereignty of the Falklands should be retained, backed up by British military and naval presence

	25-26 May 1982
	%
Acceptable	70
Not acceptable	27
Don't know	3

Q Which of the following do you feel has given you the best overall coverage of the Falklands dispute?

	25-26 May 1982
	%
Television	65
Radio	11
Newspapers	15
Don't know	9

Q Two hundred and fifty British servicemen have lost their lives recapturing the Falklands, and the operation is estimated to have cost one billion pounds. Given the cost in lives and money, do you think Britain should have sent the task force or not?

	21-23 Jun 1982
	%
Should	76
Should not	22
Don't know	2

Q On balance, do you agree or disagree that it was wrong to go to war if the Government is willing to give up the Falkland Islands in the long term?

	21-23 Jun 1982
	%
Agree, was wrong	56
Disagree, was not wrong	41
Don't know	3

Q How satisfied are you with the support the United States has given Britain during the Falklands dispute?

	21-23 Jun 1982
	%
Very satisfied	9
Fairly satisfied	54
Not very satisfied	25
Not at all satisfied	10
Don't know	3

Q British reporters with the Task Force had their reports censored by the Ministry of Defence before publication was allowed. Do you think that the Ministry of Defence should do this, or do you think that responsibility should lie with individual news editors?

	21-23 Jun 1982
	%
Ministry of Defence should censor	65
Responsibility with individual editors	28
Don't know	7

Q As you may know, Britain is a member of NATO. This means that it shares a defence policy with America and its Western Allies. Would you support or oppose a reduction in Britain's commitment of men and money to NATO in order to finance the defence of the Falklands?

	21-23 Jun 1982
	%
Yes, would support	46
No, would oppose	37
Don't know	17