Most don’t think Donald Trump should be invited to the Royal Wedding

A majority of Britons do not think that the American President Donald Trump should be invited to the Royal Wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, according to the latest Ipsos Political Monitor. The new poll shows that 69% of the public believe that he should not be invited – 23% think he should. Opposition to the invitation is higher amongst younger people (79% of 18-34s compared with 59% of those aged 55+).  Women are also more likely to oppose (78%) than men (58%), as are Labour voters (80%) than Conservative voters (63%).

Support for an invitation for Mr Trump is higher if former American President Barack Obama is invited. If the former President is invited two in four (39%) think Mr Trump should be invited – but a majority (54%) still think he should not be invited.  (The two questions were each asked of half the sample.)

The poll also reveals Theresa May’s leadership satisfaction ratings have improved slightly from November 2017. Two in five (38%) say they are satisfied (up 6 points) in her performance as PM while over half (55%) are dissatisfied (down 4) – leaving her a net satisfaction score of -17 (up 10). Supporters of her own party are also more positive about her performance with 76% satisfied (up 17 points) and 21% dissatisfied (down 11).
Jeremy Corbyn’s ratings have marginally dropped since November 2017, though he still receives fewer negative ratings than Mrs May. The poll shows 38% are satisfied in him doing his job as Labour leader (down 4 points) and 49% dissatisfied (no change) leaving him a net satisfaction score of -11 (down 4). Amongst Labour supporters 69% say they are satisfied in Mr Corbyn and 21% are dissatisfied – similar to November 2017. A quarter (25%) say they are satisfied with Vince Cable as leader of the Liberal Democrats while two in five (37%) are dissatisfied, leaving him a net satisfaction score of -12 (39% opted for ‘don’t know’).

Half the public (52%) believe the economy will get worse in the next year, while one in five (20%) think it will improve – leaving an Ipsos Economic Optimism Index (EOI) score of -32.  This is an improvement from November 2017 when it was at -43, but the public go into 2018 more pessimistic than they were at the beginning of last year when the EOI stood at -20.  Young people are most pessimistic – 64% of those aged 18-34 think the economy will get worse.
Our ongoing voting intention figures continue to show a stable pattern.  These show Labour at 42% (+3 points), Conservatives at 39% (+2 points), and the Liberal Democrats at 9% (nc).
Gideon Skinner, Head of Political Research at Ipsos, said:

Britons haven’t felt very positive towards President Trump since he was elected, and these latest figures suggest they still aren’t warming to him – especially women.  However, if Barack Obama is invited too, people become less opposed to an invite to Donald Trump (but still a majority are against).

Technical Note

Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,031 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted by telephone 19th January – 23rd January 2018.  Data are weighted to the profile of the population.