General Election 2001 - Election Digest

MORI/Times Poll ICM/Guardian poll: Tory Euro Focus Has Not Connected Election And Devolution In Wales

MORI/Times Poll

The latest MORI poll for the Times will be available at www.ipsos-mori.com from 10 p.m. tonight (Wednesday), and will be reported in The Times tomorrow.

Toplines: www.ipsos-mori.com/polls/2001/t010529.shtml

ICM/Guardian poll: Tory Euro Focus Has Not Connected

Labour's lead has significantly increased in the latest ICM poll for the Guardian, with Labour being on 47% (up two points on last week's ICM findings); the Tories on 28% (down four points, and the Liberal Democrats unchanged on 17%.

Joining the Euro is seen as the least important of a range of 11 listed factors that might contribute to voters' party choice in the election Only 40% of voters said the Euro is an important issue in deciding how to vote, compared to the top three issues - Health Service, Law and Order/Crime and Education - that are deemed more than doubly important to voters with recorded scores of 89%, 82% and 81% respectively. Just above the issue of joining the Euro, in 10th and 9th places, come Britain's membership of the EU and asylum and immigration (43% and 52% respectively).

Asked how they would vote if there were a referendum on joining the single currency, 61% (down 6% since last week) said they would vote against joining compared to 25% (up 2%) who would vote in favour. However, a more detailed question finds most respondents keeping an open mind: 57% said "we should wait and see how things develop and then take a decision"; 29% said "we should definitely stay out", and 12% said "we should definitely join". 2% did not know.

Voters are evenly split over which party has the best policy on the euro, with 27% opting for the Tories and 26% choosing Labour. Most voters (37%) do not know.

68% of voters are in favour of Britain remaining a member of the EU compared to 19% who are against.

Source: The Guardian, 30 May 2001 Technical details: ICM interviewed 1,000 adults aged 18+ across Britain by telephone between 26-28 May 2001.

Election And Devolution In Wales

The first all Wales election survey of the election campaign puts Labour are on 58%, the Tories in second on 18%, Plaid Cymru on 14% and the Liberal Democrats on 10%, according to the Western Mail/Wales on Sunday survey carried out by Market Research Wales.

Asked what they would like to see happen to the Welsh National Assembly, more (35%) would like to see it be given primary law-making and tax-levying powers as in Scotland than those who would like to see it scrapped (27%). 19% believe it should remain with the powers it now has; 7% believe it should be given primary law-making powers, and 5% believe it should give way to an independent Welsh Parliament.

Welsh voters' deem the Health Service as the most important issue, chosen by 45%, followed by the economy (23%) and education (14%).

58% of Welsh voters would vote to stay out of the single European currency if there were a referendum tomorrow; 14% would vote to join, and 28% did not know.

Asked if they were "likely" or "not likely" to vote, 85% of the Welsh say they are likely to vote; the Western Mail concludes this points to a higher turnout in Wales than elsewhere in Britain.

Source: The Western Mail, 28 May 2001. Technical details: Wales Market Research interviewed 500 adult residents of Wales by telephone between 14-2 May 2001. Quotas were placed on gender and region.