General Election 2001 - Election Digest

Voting Intention & John Prescott

The NOP/Sunday Times poll shows Labour on 49% (unchanged since last week), the Conservatives on 30% (-2 points) and the Liberal Democrats on 14% (+1). Labour is 26 points ahead of the Conservatives on economic competence, up 7 points.

The poll provides the first sounding from the public on John Prescott's encounter with a protester in North Wales on Wednesday. Mr Prescott is backed by 58% to 35%.

One week into the campaign proper, a third of the electorate - 35% - say that no party deserves their vote.

Source: NOP/Sunday Times, 20 May 2001 Technical details: NOP interviewed a weighted sample of 1,107 adults by telephone, across Britain, on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 May.

Labour's Private Poll

The Sunday Times and Sunday Telegraph contain the findings of Labour's private polling, which shows the party increasing its lead over the Tories from 18 points on May 6 to 22 points last Wednesday (16 May). The polling, conducted by NOP and released to Sunday papers by Alastair Campbell, also shows Labour maintaining a lead on taxation. This is reported as being 21 points over the Conservatives in the May 6 survey - a figure which was almost unchanged (at 22 points) in last week's poll for the party.

Source: NOP/Sunday Times/Sunday Telegraph, 20 May 2001 Technical details: Not given

Nurses Fear For The NHS

The Sunday Times also reports the findings of a poll of 6,000 nurses, published by the Royal College of Nursing. It finds that one in three nurses believe that the NHS will not remain free at the point of delivery by the end of the decade. The survey also shows 25% of nurses aged 18-45 expecting to leave the profession by 2010.

Source: RCN/Sunday Times, 20 May 2001 Technical details: A survey of 6,000 nurses published by the Royal College of Nursing