Local Elections, Kosovo and the Tory Leadership
- MORI interviewed 1,008 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain (627 adults on Qs 8-21)
- Interviews were conducted by telephone on 30 April - 1 May 1999.
- Based on all unless otherwise stated.
- Data are weighted to the profile of Great Britain.
- An '*' indicates a finding of less than 0.5%, but greater than zero.
Local Elections
Q1 How would you vote if there were a General Election tomorrow? IF UNDECIDED OR REFUSED AT Q1 Q2 Which party are you most inclined to support? Base : All
| 160 | % |
| Conservative | 30 |
| Labour | 50 |
| Liberal Democrats (Lib Dem) | 14 |
| Scottish Nationalist (SNP) | 2 |
| Welsh Nationalist (Plaid Cymru) | * |
| Green Party | 1 |
| Democratic/UKIP/Referendum Party | * |
| Other | 2 |
| 160 | |
| Would not vote | 11 |
| Undecided | 8 |
| Refused | 1 |
Q3 As far as you know, are local elections due to be held in this area on 6th May? Base : All
| 160 | % |
| Yes - elections to be held in May | 85 |
| No - no elections in May | 9 |
| Don't know | 6 |
| 160 | |
| Correct | 78 |
| Incorrect | 16 |
Q4 In fact there are local elections in this area next week on May 6th. How likely is it that you will get along to vote in these council elections? IN SCOTLAND AND WALES ASK: By local elections I mean elections for local councils, not elections to the Scottish Parliament/Welsh Assembly. Base: All areas where local elections being held (799)
| 160 | % |
| Certain to vote | 50 |
| Very likely to vote | 16 |
| Quite likely to vote | 10 |
| Not very likely to vote | 10 |
| Certain not to vote | 12 |
| Don't know | 2 |
Q5 If you do get along to vote in the local election, which party will you vote for? IN SCOTLAND AND WALES ASK: Again, by local elections I mean elections for local councils, not elections to the Scottish Parliament/Welsh Assembly. IF UNDECIDED OR REFUSED AT Q5
Q6 Which party are you most inclined to support? Base: All areas where local elections being held
| 160 | Certain to vote | |
| 160 | (799) | (397) |
| 160 | % | % |
| Conservative | 26 | 29 |
| Labour | 41 | 38 |
| Liberal Democrats (Lib Dem) | 19 | 19 |
| Scottish Nationalist (SNP) | 3 | 3 |
| Welsh Nationalist (Plaid Cymru) | 1 | 1 |
| Green Party | 1 | 1 |
| Democratic/UKIP/Referendum Party | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 8 | 8 |
| 160 | ||
| Will not vote | 4 | 0 |
| Undecided | 6 | 3 |
| Refused | 3 | 4 |
Q7 On balance, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way your local council is running the area? Base: All
| 160 | % |
| Satisfied | 61 |
| Dissatisfied | 30 |
| Don't know | 9 |
| 160 | |
| Net satisfied | +31 |
The Tories
I am now going to ask you some questions about national politics ...
Q8 Who do you think would make the most capable Prime Minister, Mr Blair, Mr Hague or Mr Ashdown? Base: All (627)
| 160 | % |
| Blair | 53 |
| Hague | 9 |
| Ashdown | 16 |
| None of these | 14 |
| Don't know | 9 |
Q9 If Mr Hague were to stand down as Conservative Party leader, which one, if any, of these politicians would you like to see lead the Conservative Party? Base: All (627)
| 160 | All (627) | All Conservatives (154) |
| 160 | % | % |
| Michael Heseltine | 15 | 13 |
| Kenneth Clarke | 21 | 16 |
| Ann Widdecombe | 5 | 6 |
| Francis Maude | * | 1 |
| Michael Portillo | 9 | 15 |
| John Redwood | 5 | 8 |
| Margaret Thatcher | 15 | 24 |
| Peter Lilley | 2 | 3 |
| 160 | ||
| None of these | 17 | 6 |
| Don't know | 12 | 9 |
Q10 If there were a General Election tomorrow and the Conservative Party was led by Michael Portillo / Ken Clarke, how would you vote? IF UNDECIDED OR REFUSED AT Q10a
Q10a Which party are you most inclined to support? Base: All (627)
| 160 | Portillo | Clarke |
| 160 | % | % |
| Conservative | 32 | 35 |
| Labour | 50 | 47 |
| Liberal Democrats (Lib Dem) | 11 | 11 |
| Scottish Nationalist (SNP) | 2 | 1 |
| Welsh Nationalist (Plaid Cymru) | 1 | 1 |
| Green Party | 1 | 1 |
| Democratic/UKIP/Referendum Party | 0 | * |
| Other | 4 | 4 |
| 160 | ||
| Would not vote | 13 | 11 |
| Undecided | 6 | 5 |
| Refused | 2 | 2 |
Kosovo
I am now going to ask you some questions about foreign affairs ...
Q12 As you may know, NATO forces are currently taking part in air raids in Yugoslavia. On balance, do you believe that Britain is right or wrong to have joined in the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia? Base: All (627)
| 160 | % |
| Right | 70 |
| Wrong | 21 |
| Don't know | 8 |
Q13 From what you know, do you believe the air raids have helped protect ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, made their situation more dangerous or made no real difference? Base: All (627)
| 160 | % |
| Helped protect | 24 |
| More dangerous | 37 |
| No real difference | 31 |
| Don't know | 8 |
Q14 As you may know, tens of thousands of refugees have fled from Kosovo. How many of these refugees, if any, would you be prepared to accept as asylum seekers in the United Kingdom? Base: All (627)
| 160 | % |
| None | 11 |
| Up to 100 | 2 |
| 101-500 | 5 |
| 501-1000 | 8 |
| 1001-5000 | 16 |
| 5001-10,000 | 12 |
| More than 10,000 | 22 |
| Don't know | 24 |
Q15-Q18 I am going to read out a number of statements. Please tell me whether you agree or disagree with each. Base: All (627)
| 160 | Agree | Disagree | Don't Know |
| 160 | % | % | % |
| Bombing Yugoslavia will force Serbia to stop abusing human rights in Kosovo | 36 | 55 | 9 |
| Britain should send ground troops into the Conflict | 51 | 40 | 9 |
| Britain and NATO should send assassins to kill Slobodan Milosevic | 39 | 53 | 8 |
| NATO cannot stop the abuse of human rights in Kosovo without the use of ground troops | 63 | 25 | 11 |
Q19 From what you know, how long do you think the current Serbian conflict will last? Q20 And how long do you think Britain should remain involved in the current Serbian conflict? Base: All (627)
| 160 | Q19 | Q20 |
| 160 | % | % |
| Stop immediately/today | * | 8 |
| Within one week | * | * |
| One to two weeks | 1 | 0 |
| Over 2 - 4 weeks | 5 | 1 |
| Over 1 month to 3 months | 15 | 1 |
| Over 3 months to 6 months | 15 | 2 |
| Over 6 months | 33 | 2 |
| Until it ends | n/a | 80 |
| Don't know | 30 | 7 |
Q21 How many British lives, if any, would you say it would be worth losing to protect the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo? Base: All (627)
| 160 | % |
| None | 45 |
| Under 10 | 4 |
| 11-100 | 6 |
| 101-1000 | 6 |
| Over 1000 | 5 |
| Don't know | 34 |