Ipsos Research Highlights - February 2022
In our latest Ipsos Research Highlights we explore the rise in lack of faith in politicians, concern around the cost of living and who the public thinks would make the most capable Prime Minister.
Ipsos Issues Index: January 2022
Our latest Issues Index finds that COVID-19 remains the biggest issue facing the country – however, this has seen a significant drop of 20 points, since December, which comes after the surge of the Omicron virus over the Christmas period. Concern about the intentions of politicians has surged for Britons this month; this is an especially big issue among Labour supporters and those living in Northern England.
Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak outscore Boris Johnson on a host of leadership traits but little to choose between Starmer and Sunak
While 61% of Britons think the Conservative party should change their leadership, we've looked at potential replacements for the Prime Minister. Keir Starmer leads Boris Johnson on being honest (+26), being in touch with ordinary people (+16) and putting the country first (+15). Rishi Sunak leads Johnson by 5 points or more on being a capable leader (+5) but Keir Starmer leads out on Sunak in the same trait.
Over half of Britons say we aren’t talking enough about the rising cost of living – while 4 in 10 say “Partygate” is being discussed too much
We know that Britons think the stories about breaches of lockdown restrictions in Downing Street are important and have been following it closely – 40% of Britons it is being discussed too much but 34% say it's being discussed about the right amount. In contrast, the rising cost of living is a top concern and 54% of Britons think we should be discussing this more, despite the attention it has had in recent weeks. With reports surrounding the rise of energy bills and interest rates going up it is unlikely public worries will change soon.
Labour most trusted on cost of living and levelling up, but Conservatives still lead on growing the economy
Overall, over the last year we have seen growing criticism of the Government’s delivery across a range of areas including “levelling-up, improving the NHS and reducing you and your family’s cost of living where the Labour party takes the lead. On the other hand, the Conservatives lead Labour on being most trusted to grow the economy (by 37% to 31%). However, the public are split on whether Labour is ready to form the next government but the party’s score on this measure is better than since they lost office.
In other news
In the Ipsos Global Trustworthiness Monitor 2021, we find that, despite popular belief, we are not experiencing a ‘crisis of trust’. The monitor reveals that pharmaceutical, banking companies and governments are now seen as more trustworthy than they were three years ago.
We’ve looked at attitudes towards the licence fee as a source of funding for the BBC.
As talks continue to try and stop Russia invading Ukraine, 41% of Britons think Boris Johnson has done a bad job of handling the ongoing situation.
As ever, please do let us know what you think, and I hope you find something to interest you.
Kelly Beaver
Chief Executive, Ipsos
[email protected]