NHS is as important as economy in determining public vote
Newly released data from a June survey for the public sector trade union UNISON shows that the NHS remains a key election issue, despite the recession. Ninety-six per cent of the public say the NHS will be an important factor in deciding how they vote at the next general election. This compares to the economy (important for 93%), crime (92%), public services (85%), schools (85%) and Britain's relationship with Europe (70%).
NHS is as important as economy in determining public vote
Newly released data from a June survey for the public sector trade union UNISON shows that the NHS remains a key election issue, despite the recession. Ninety-six per cent of the public say the NHS will be an important factor in deciding how they vote at the next general election. More say the NHS will be important than say the same about the economy (important for 93%), crime (92%), public services (85%), schools (85%) and Britain’s relationship with Europe (70%).
Support for the NHS remains strong: three quarters (76%) take the view that “The NHS is crucial to British society and we must do everything to maintain it”. Only 22% are of the opinion that “The NHS was a great project but we probably can’t maintain it in its current form”.
The prospect of increased private involvement in running the NHS attracts only limited support. Three quarters of the public (78%) believe that “health services should be run by the Government and public organisations, rather than by private companies”.
A similar proportion (73%) think that “people who provide Britain’s health services should be employed by the NHS rather than by private companies”.
The survey contained a 'booster' sample of 251 public sector workers, meaning that 494 public sector workers were interviewed in total. The views of public sector workers on these issues do not differ notably from the population as a whole (see the topline and data tabulations via the links below for a full comparison).
Technical note
Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,001 adults in Great Britain aged 18 and over. Interviews were conducted by telephone between 12th and 14th June 2009. In addition, Ipsos conducted 251 ‘booster’ interviews among public sector workers
Data are weighted to match the profile of the population by gender, age, working status (including public vs. private sector workers), region, housing tenure, social class and car ownership.
