Issues Index November 2008

Ipsos's monthly Issues Index (conducted face-to-face monthly of c. 1,000 British adults age 18+) shows that the economy remains at the top of the list of public concerns. In fact, for the second month in a row, Ipsos has recorded our highest-ever rating for the economy, with more than three in five (62%) of the public rating it as one of the most important issues facing Britain, and increase of four points from last month.

Concern About Economy at Record High but Unemployment Worries Remain Low Ipsos's monthly Issues Index (conducted face-to-face monthly of c. 1,000 British adults age 18+) shows that the economy remains at the top of the list of public concerns. In fact, for the second month in a row, Ipsos has recorded our highest-ever rating for the economy, with more than three in five (62%) of the public rating it as one of the most important issues facing Britain, and increase of four points from last month. Also, despite recent rises in the national unemployment figures, just 15% are concerned about unemployment (an increase of only one point from last month) and only 4% state that they are concerned about pensions. Just under two in five (18%) say they are concerned about inflation/prices, a figure which has dropped three points from last month. Following the economy, the public see crime as the second most important issue: nearly two fifths of the public (38%) see crime/violence/law and order as among the top issues, an increase of 5% since last month. Along with rising concern about the economy and crime, the public are also concerned about race relations/immigration as the third most important issue (22%), although this has dropped by five points since last month. Concern about the NHS now the lowest we have recorded since 1985, with just 13% mentioning the NHS, and the same proportioning mentioning defence/foreign affairs/ international terrorism. It appears that the public's increasing concern about the state of the economy means that other traditionally very highly rated concerns are falling away. Download the November Issues Index toplineDownload the November Issues Index charts Download the November Issues Index tables

Technical Note

Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 995 adults aged 18+ at 203 sampling points across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted face-to-face on 13th - 19th November 2008. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. Where percentages do not sum to 100, this may be due to computer rounding, the exclusion of "don't know" categories, or multiple answers. Throughout the volume, an asterisk (*) denotes any value of less than half a per cent.

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