Future Government 1997
MORI survey for the Economist, conducted on the eve of the 1997 general election, exploring public attitudes to the future political and constitutional agenda
MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 962 British adults aged 18+ at 86 ED-cluster sampling points across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted face-to-face, in home, on 25-28 April 1997 as part of MORI’s regular CAPI Omnibus survey. The survey was conducted for The Economist and published on 2 May 1997.
Q. People have different views about whether it is more important to reduce taxes or keep up government spending. How about you? Which of these statements comes closest to your own view?
| % | |
|---|---|
| Taxes being cut, even if it means some reduction in government services, such as health, education and welfare | 7 |
| Things should be left as they are | 14 |
| Government services such as health, education and welfare should be extended, even if it means some increases in taxes | 76 |
| Don't know | 3 |
Q. Here is a list of politicians. Please could you tell me which, if any, you have heard of? And for each one you know, would you say he/she is a strength or a weakness to their party?
| Heard of | Strength | Weakness | Net score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | ±% | |
| Tony Blair | 99 | 73 | 13 | +60 |
| Gordon Brown | 78 | 46 | 10 | +36 |
| John Prescott | 90 | 51 | 15 | +36 |
| Michael Heseltine | 97 | 56 | 24 | +32 |
| Kenneth Clarke | 95 | 47 | 23 | +24 |
| Robin Cook | 79 | 36 | 22 | +14 |
| Jack Straw | 71 | 30 | 16 | +14 |
| John Major | 99 | 50 | 37 | +13 |
| Michael Howard | 86 | 30 | 28 | +2 |
| William Hague | 42 | 12 | 11 | +1 |
| Malcolm Rifkind | 84 | 27 | 27 | 0 |
| Michael Portillo | 89 | 33 | 34 | -1 |
| Stephen Dorrell | 66 | 13 | 27 | -14 |
| John Redwood | 81 | 18 | 38 | -20 |
Q. If there were a referendum now on whether Britain should stay in or get out of the European Union, how would you vote? Q. And if there were a referendum now on whether Britain should be part of a single European currency, how would you vote?
| European Union | Single Currency | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | Those expressing an opinion | All | Those expressing an opinion | |
| % | % | % | % | |
| Stay in/In favour | 44 | 52 | 25 | 29 |
| Get out/Against | 41 | 48 | 60 | 71 |
| Don't know | 15 | 15 |
Q. I am going to read out a series of changes that a government might propose in the future, and I would like you to tell me to what extent you support or oppose each.
| Strongly support | Tend to support | Neither/ nor | Tend to oppose | Strongly oppose | Don't know | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create a Scottish Parliament, with some powers over levels of taxation in Scotland | % | 13 | 32 | 22 | 15 | 10 | 8 |
| Remove the right of hereditary Peers to vote in the House of Lords, so that only life peers had a vote | % | 21 | 26 | 22 | 12 | 8 | 10 |
| Hold a referendum on changing the system we use to elect MPs | % | 18 | 32 | 18 | 18 | 6 | 8 |
| Change local government so that mayors of towns and cities are directly elected by local residents | % | 29 | 44 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 5 |
| Make Britain into a republic by removing the constitutional powers of the monarchy | % | 8 | 11 | 14 | 22 | 40 | 5 |
Trends on support for: referendum on the electoral system; House of Lords reform.
Q. To what extent do you agree or disagree with these statements?
| Strongly agree | Tend to agree | Neither/ nor | Tend to disagree | Strongly disagree | Don't know | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Britain needs a Bill of Rights to protect the liberty of the individual | % | 28 | 42 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 7 |
| This country should adopt a new voting system that would give parties seats in Parliament in proportion to their share of the votes | % | 27 | 38 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 6 |
| There should be a freedom of information act, giving the right of access to information collected by public authorities, subject to adequate safeguards on national security, crime prevention and personal privacy | % | 35 | 42 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 |
| Interest rates should be increased slightly, in order to keep down the level of inflation | % | 8 | 45 | 16 | 16 | 5 | 9 |
| Taxes should be increased slightly, in order to keep down the level of inflation | % | 6 | 41 | 16 | 21 | 8 | 8 |
Trends on support for proportional representation.
Q. Which of the following do you think should be carried into law under the next government? Q. And which do you think should not be carried into law?
| Should | Should not | Net should | |
|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | ±% | |
| A ban on fox hunting with hounds | 64 | 15 | +49 |
| Make it more difficult to get a divorce | 28 | 31 | -3 |
| Legalise cannabis | 21 | 49 | -28 |
| Reduce the powers of Britain's laws against racial discrimination | 17 | 43 | -28 |
| Reduce the age of consent for homosexuals to 16 | 16 | 55 | -39 |
| Legalise the cloning of individuals | 6 | 63 | -57 |
| Other | 0 | 1 | |
| None of these | 13 | 5 | |
| Don't know | 3 | 5 |
Q. On balance, do you think that prison sentences for those convicted of crimes are generally too lenient, too severe, or are they about right?
| % | |
|---|---|
| Too lenient | 72 |
| Too severe | 2 |
| About right | 17 |
| Don't know | 9 |
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