Londoners say Brexit, crime and housing are the top issues facing the capital

Brexit, crime, and housing are the most important issues facing Londoners, a poll conducted by Ipsos on behalf of London Councils has found.

One in five Londoners (20%) say that Britain leaving the EU is the most important issue facing the capital in our latest poll. The findings show that Londoners are very anxious about the impact of Brexit on the economy and services, with three-quarters (75%) agreeing that it is vital that EU citizens working for the NHS and social care services can continue to work in London after Brexit, and over half (54%) fearing that London’s economy will become weaker over the next five years.

Housing is named by 16% of Londoners as the most important issue, just behind crime and policing (17%). An overwhelming majority (81%) agree that housing in London is in crisis, with more than half naming high house prices (57%) and high rents (51%) as the most important problems facing the London housing market. This is in marked contrast to a previous survey of Great Britain as a whole, where only 28% identified high rents as an important issue.

The poll also found that, while Londoners strongly feel action can and should be taken by local authorities to tackle the housing crisis, they have strong views about where and what type of housing should be built in future.

More Londoners are satisfied (46%) than dissatisfied (26%) with their local council. However, almost half (45%) feel that the quality of public services has worsened over the last five years. Despite this, Londoners are broadly in favour of London devolution, with 46% supporting transferring more powers to London compared with 13% who oppose.

Technical Note

Ipsos ran an online survey of 1,000 residents aged 18-75 living in Greater London using their Online Access Panel, a panel of pre-recruited individuals who have agreed to take part in research. The Panel is managed and operated in-house by Ipsos Interactive Services (IIS) and has over 230,000 members across the UK. Quotas were set by age, gender, work status and inner/outer London, with final data also weighted to these profiles along with housing tenure and ethnicity. Fieldwork took place between 26 October and 5 November inclusive.

Where comparable, results from an online survey of 1,009 adults aged 16+ in 2014 are included for reference. Fieldwork took place between 10 and 22 October 2014 inclusive.

London Councils represents London’s 32 borough councils and the City of London. It is a cross-party organisation that works on behalf of all its member authorities regardless of political persuasion.