Labour seen as best party on looking after interest of women
Labour have opened up a 22 point lead over the Conservatives as the best party to look after the interests of women, according to a new Ipsos poll.
Around one in eight people (12%) say that the Conservatives are the best party to look after the interests of women, while one in three (34%) believe Labour would be best and 17% say the same of the Liberal Democrats (17%). This is a marked change since February 2010 when one in five people (20%) believed that the Conservatives were best on this issue, compared to a quarter (26%) for Labour. This represents a swing to Labour from the Conservatives of eight points.
This fall in support for the Conservatives has been among both men and women. Women are slightly more likely than men to say that the Conservatives are the best party for women (15% and 10% respectively), while nearly a quarter of men (24%) believe the Liberal Democrats are best on the issue compared to just one in nine (11%) women. One in three men and women (34%) say Labour would be best.
Furthermore, while two in three (66%) Labour voters think their party is best to represent women’s interests, only a third (32%) of Conservatives feels the same way about their party.
Gideon Skinner, Head of Political Research at Ipsos, said:
“The Conservatives have clearly lost ground to Labour as best at looking after the interests of women – and what is interesting is that men have marked them down on this issue just as much as women. Not only that, men are more likely to express an opinion on the matter.”
Notes to Editors:
Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,006 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted by telephone 15th to 17th September 2012. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.
Download the full computer tables (PDF)
