London's Future
Technical details
A representative quota sample of 1,704 Londoners aged 18+, supplemented with a further sample of 311 black and Asian Londoners, were interviewed face-to-face, in home, in 157 sampling points across the 32 London boroughs. Fieldwork was conducted between 23 October and 12 December 1999. The data have been weighted to match the known profile of the population of London. Following the withdrawal of Jeffrey Archer as the Conservative Party candidate on 21 November 1999, a series of changes were made to the questionnaire to reflect the new circumstances, and two new questions were added (Q11 and Q12).
Q1a How would you vote if there were a General Election tomorrow? (If undecided or refused at Q1) Q1b Which party are you most inclined to support? Base: All respondents (2,016)
| Conservative |  27% |
| Labour |  59% |
| Liberal Democrats |  11% |
| Green Party |  2% |
| UK Independence Party |  1% |
| Other |  1% |
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| Would not vote | 9% |
| Undecided | 9% |
| Refused | 3% |
Q2 As you may know, there will be elections in May next year for the new Mayor of London and Greater London Assembly. Were you aware of these elections before this interview or not? Base: All respondents (2,016)
| Yes | 88% |
| No | 11% |
| Don't know/not sure | 1% |
Q3 Did you manage to get along to vote in last year's referendum on whether to introduce an elected mayor and Greater London Authority? Base: All respondents (2,016)
| Yes | 32% |
| No | 61% |
| Don't know/not sure | 7% |
Q4 How did you vote in that election - did you vote in favour or against introducing an elected mayor and Greater London Assembly? Base: All who voted in referendum (640)
| In favour | 77% |
| Against | 14% |
| Don't know/not sure | 9% |
Q5 How likely do you think you will be to get along to vote in the elections for the new Mayor and the Greater London Assembly in May next year? Base: All respondents (2,016)
| Certain to vote |  29% |
| Very likely | 25% |
| Fairly likely | 23% |
| Not very likely | 8% |
| Not at all likely | 4% |
| Certain not to vote | 8% |
| Don't know/not sure | 4% |
Q6a Here are the names and pictures (not shown here) of some people who have been mentioned in the press in connection with the post of London Mayor. Which, if any, of these people have you heard of? Q6b And which if any, of these people do you think would make, or would have made, a good mayor? Q6c And which, if any, of these people do you think would make, or would have made, a bad mayor? Base: Pre-21st Nov (1199) / 21st Nov and after (817)
| Heard of | Good mayor | Bad mayor | ||||
| Pre- 21st | 21st & after | Pre- 21st | 21st & after | Pre- 21st | 21st & after | |
| % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Ken Livingstone | 91 | 92 | 38 | 37 | 8 | 8 |
| Jeffrey Archer | 89 | 88 | 16 | 10 | 21 | 30 |
| Glenda Jackson | 83 | 82 | 13 | 15 | 7 | 5 |
| Richard Branson | 75 | 72 | 17 | 15 | 6 | 4 |
| Frank Dobson | 75 | 73 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 6 |
| Tony Banks | 69 | 66 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
| Peter Stringfellow | 62 | 60 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 22 |
| Bernie Grant | 53 | 53 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 |
| Trevor Phillips | 50 | 44 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Stephen Norris | 47 | 53 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Simon Hughes | 46 | 43 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| Margaret Hodge | 33 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| John Bird | 28 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Nick Raynsford | 25 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Susan Kramer | 15 | 22 | 1 | 2 | * | 1 |
| Michael Cassidy | 13 | 13 | * | * | 1 | 1 |
| Darren Johnson | 7 | 6 | * | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Stewart Lewis | 5 | 7 | * | * | * | 1 |
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| Other | 1 | 24 | * | 5 | * | 3 |
| None of these | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Don't know | 1 | 1 | 21 | 28 | 35 | 37 |
Q7a How important do you think the personal qualities of the candidates will be in deciding the way you vote? Q7b And how important do you think the parties they represent will be in deciding the way you vote? Q7c And how important do you think the candidates' positions on the issues in the election will be in deciding the way you vote? Base: Pre-21st Nov (1199) / 21st Nov and after (817)
| Q7a | Q7b | Q7c | |
| Candidates' personal qualities | The parties they represent | The issues in the election | |
| % | % | % | |
| Very important | 68 | 42 | 70 |
| Fairly important | 25 | 35 | 20 |
| Not very important | 4 | 14 | 4 |
| Not at all important | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| Don't know | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Q8a If you do vote in the elections for the elected mayor, what do you think will be the single most important issue for you in deciding the way you vote? Q8b Here are some of the issues that might affect the way you vote in the elections for mayor. Which would you say will be the two or three most important issues in deciding the way you vote? Base: All respondents (2,016)
| Q8a | Q8b | |
| Unprompted | Prompted | |
| % | % | |
| Public Transport | 33 | 36 |
| Health care | 10 | 45 |
| Education/schools | 8 | 36 |
| Jobs/employment | 7 | 28 |
| Crime and Policing | 7 | 39 |
| Housing | 4 | 22 |
| Reducing Poverty | 3 | 20 |
| Race/race relations/immigration | 2 | 12 |
| Regenerating inner city areas | 1 | 15 |
| Europe/Single European Currency | 1 | 4 |
| Attracting businesses to London | 1 | 5 |
| The Environment | 1 | n/a |
| Pensions/welfare security | 1 | n/a |
| Road congestion | 1 | n/a |
| The economy in London | 1 | n/a |
| Local taxation levels | 1 | n/a |
| Arts and Leisure promotion | * | 2 |
| Planning | * | n/a |
| Drug abuse | * | n/a |
| Northern Ireland | * | n/a |
| Other | 7 | 2 |
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| None of these | 1 | 1 |
| Don't know | 9 | 1 |
Q9a Here are a list of personal qualities that some people think an elected Mayor of London should possess. Which one of these, if any, do you feel would be most important in an elected mayor? Q9b And which two or three others, if any, would you say would also be important in an elected mayor? Base: All respondents (2,016)
| Q9a | Q9b | |
| Single | Other | |
| % | % | |
| Honest | 35 | 35 |
| Independent-minded | 11 | 27 |
| Able to work well with other organisations eg London Transport, local councils | 11 | 35 |
| Speaks up for London | 11 | 29 |
| Experienced in government | 9 | 28 |
| Able to appeal to all sections of society | 9 | 31 |
| Loyal to their party | 4 | 10 |
| Is a Londoner | 4 | 12 |
| Able to work well with the government | 3 | 19 |
| Charismatic | 1 | 8 |
| Other | * | 1 |
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| None of these | * | 1 |
| Don't know | 2 | 2 |
Q10a As well as having a vote for the elected Mayor of London, you will also have a vote for members of the new Greater London Assembly. You will have one vote for an individual member to represent your part of London, and one vote for a party list to express which party you would most like to see run London. Which party's candidate would you vote for in the elections for a representative for your part of London? (If undecided or refused) Q10b And which party's candidate would you be most inclined to support? Q10c And how would you vote in the elections for which party should run London? (If undecided or refused) Q10d And which party would you be most inclined to support? Base: All respondents (2,016)
| Q10a/b combined | Q10c/d combined | |
| Candidate | Party | |
| % voting | % voting | |
| Conservative | 25 | 25 |
| Labour | 58 | 58 |
| Liberal Democrat | 11 | 12 |
| Green | 3 | 3 |
| UK Independence Party | 1 | 1 |
| BNP | * | * |
| Other | 2 | 2 |
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| Would not vote | 5 | 6 |
| Undecided | 6 | 7 |
| Refused | 3 | 4 |
Q11 As you may be aware, Jeffrey Archer has stood down as the Conservative Party candidate for London Mayor after admitting asking a friend to lie for him in court. In your opinion, was Jeffrey Archer right or wrong to withdraw as the Conservative Party candidate? Base: All interviewed after 21 November 1999 (817)
| Was right to withdraw | 69% |
| Was wrong to withdraw | 10% |
| Don't know/not sure | 21% |
Q12 As you may also know, Jeffrey Archer was elected as the Conservative Party candidate by a ballot of members in London. Do you think the Conservative Party should or should not have let him stand in this ballot? Base: All interviewed after 21 November 1999 (817)
| Should have let him stand | 33% |
| Should not have let him stand | 40% |
| Don't know/not sure | 27% |
