Ipsos Research Highlights - October 2016

After three months of rising consumer optimism after the Brexit vote in June, the 'Marmite war' story brought home worries about rising prices to consumers, which 67% now mention. Some 49% now expect to be worse off as a result of Brexit, up from 29% in May, and consumer confidence fell 28 points in October. The key challenge facing the UK government remains how to get a good trade deal with the EU, while limiting immigration. As we found in our global survey, 'What worries the world' this month, while unemployment is the chief global anxiety, Britain is more worried about controlling immigration than any other country on earth. At the same time, perhaps reflecting economic worries, slightly more of the British say single market access should be a priority (45%) than controlling immigration (39%). As consumer price inflation rises in 2017 it is going to be a challenging time for retailers and business – and the public. In politics the Conservatives sprang to a near record lead over Labour ( 47% vs 29%). Theresa May’s ratings have slipped slightly, but she remains far ahead of Labour on economic competence. Elsewhere in this issue we look at support for new infrastructure – housing is seen as more an issue than new airports (and 43% of Brits say their home fails on affordability or condition). Our US colleagues are busy tracking the US general election: we’ll report on their accuracy next month, but 84% of Brits dislike Donald Trump. We also have in-depth reports on India and Brazil, and our 'What Worries the World' G20 study shows the Spanish most worried about unemployment, and South Africa and Hungary – corruption. In Britain it's extremism and immigration…

All this and much more – see you next month, when we will know who the President of the USA will be, and please put the 13th December in your diary – for our End of Year review in London – invites coming!

Ben Page Chief Executive Ipsos