Ipsos's October Political Monitor shows that Labour retains a small voting intentions lead over the Conservatives among the 56% of the electorate who say they are absolutely certain to vote. Tony Blair has also seen a rise in the proportion of the public satisfied with his performance as Prime Minister, up from 26% in early September to 32% now, though a majority of the public remain dissatisfied (60%) with him. The proportion of the public satisfied with David Cameron as Conservative party leader stands at 31%, exactly the same as first measured by Ipsos in January of this year. However the proportion dissatisfied with Cameron has almost doubled over this time, from 17% to 32%. More than a third (37%) say they don't know if they are satisfied or dissatisfied with Cameron.
An Ipsos poll for the Evening Standard shows that the majority of Londoners (59%) believe that Muslim women concealing their faces is bad for race relations and just over a quarter (27%) disagree. The research, conducted on Ipsos's new monthly London Omnibus survey, also shows that the Capital is split on whether the comments made by Jack Straw have worsened (44%) race relations in London or made no difference (43%).
This report reviews the debate about retail and regeneration, spotlighting those people actually working in (or who have worked in) the retail sector. At the heart of this report are the findings of a survey by Ipsos of a nationally representative sample of the adult general public, undertaken in two waves of omnibus during 2006.
An exclusive poll by Ipsos for ITV's Tonight Show shows that the British public believe Muslim women have a right to wear a veil - but not in the classroom, on television or on the beat.
Pulse Check
Pulse Check delivers key insights from Ipsos' Political Monitor, Political Pulse, and Public Services data, along with reactive polling, to help you navigate the evolving political landscape.
Television parenting programmes are having a powerful influence on parenting techniques in Great Britain, research by Ipsos reveals. But the research — for the National Family and Parenting Institute — also shows a large proportion of those who view such programmes (37%) believe that such programmes sensationalise family problems for public entertainment.
Research conducted by Ipsos for the Young Foundation shows that the British public believe political parties have an important role to play in democracy. Half the public (49%) say that political parties in Britain enable the people to have a voice; and a similar number also disagree that Britain would be better off if political parties did not exist and all politicians were independent. At the same time, fewer than a quarter believe that parties are open and transparent, and the most popular approaches to making parties more appealing would be for them to involve people more in local decision making and for them to listen more to the public.
The British public are increasingly sceptical of the Government's ability to improve public services, according to the latest Ipsos Government Delivery Index - our regular 'health check' on government performance and public expectations. This scepticism is particularly apparent with the NHS, for which public expectations have reached a record low.
Europe's top business people are travelling more, earning more, spending more on the internet, have a liking for high tech gadgets; and have a massive thirst for business news in print, on TV and on the internet.
The survey found overall support for GCSE coursework, particularly among teachers of typically coursework-instensive subjects such as English, Music and Geography. Benefits cited by teachers include "helping students to gain experience build some skills in the subject" (29%) and "encouraging independent learning" (25%). Other perceived benefits relate to a student-friendly assessment method, for example being "less stressful than exams" (23%).
Read our latest work for the Youth Justice board. We have conducted Youth Surveys for the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB) since 1999. The overall aim of the research has been to examine the experiences of crime, of both offenders and victims, among 11- 16-year-old young people in mainstream education.
