Political Attitudes in Great Britain for December 1997

Public Sector

Research study conducted for The Times Newspaper containing questions on the monarchy, party leaders, economic optimism, issues facing Britain and voting intention.

 

Research study conducted for The Times Newspaper

MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 2,122 adults aged 18+ at 169 sampling points across Great Britain between 12-15 December 1997.

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?
  %
Conservative 26
Labour 55
Lib Dem 15
Scot / Welsh Nationalist 3
Green Party 1
Referendum Party *
Other 1
Would not vote 9
Undecided 4
Refused 1
Q3 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way the Government is running the country? Q4 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Mr Blair is doing his job as Prime Minister? Q5 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Mr Hague is doing his job as leader of the Conservative Party? Q6 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Mr Ashdown is doing his job as Leader of the Liberal Democrats?
  Satisfied Dissatisfied Don't know
  % % %
Government 43 38 19
Blair 61 27 12
Hague 20 50 31
Ashdown 59 15 26

 

Q7 What would you say is the most important issue facing Britain today? Q8 What do you see as other important issues facing Britain today?
  Q7 / 8
  %
National Health Service / Hospitals 42
Education / schools 31
Unemployment / factory closure / lack of industry 31
Common Market / EU / Europe / Single European Currency 28
Pensions / social security 20
Crime / law & order / violence / vandalism 16
Economy / economic situation 14
Pollution / environment 9
Housing 8
Poverty / inequality 8
Beef / BSE / Mad Cow Disease 7
Drug abuse 5
Race relations / immigration / immigrants 4
Morality / individual behaviour 4
Inflation / prices 3
Northern Ireland 3
Defence / foreign affairs 2
Transport / public transport 2
Taxation 2
Local government / council tax 1
Nuclear weapons / nuclear war / disarmament 1
AIDS 1
Animal welfare 1
Countryside / rural life 1
Scottish / Welsh Assembly / Devolution 1
Privatisation *
Pound / exchange rate / value of pound *
Trade unions / strikes *
Other 13
Don't know 4

 

Q9 Do you think that the general economic condition of the country will improve, stay the same, or get worse over the next 12 months?
  %
Improve 26
Stay the same 36
Get worse 30
Don't know 8

 

Q10 Which of these statements comes closest to your view of Mr Blair? Q11 Which of these statements comes closest to your view of Mr Hague?
  Mr Blair Mr Hague
  % %
I like him and I like his policies 47 10
I like him but I dislike his policies 22 14
I dislike him but I like his policies 7 12
I dislike him and I dislike his policies 14 38
No opinion 10 26

 

Q12 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Prince Charles is doing his job as Prince of Wales? Q13 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way the Queen is doing her job as Monarch?
  Prince Charles The Queen
  % %
Satisfied 61 72
Dissatisfied 29 21
Don't know 10 7

 

Q14 On balance, do you think Britain would be better off or worse off if the monarchy was abolished, or do you think it would make no difference?
  %
Better off 15
Worse off 55
Make no difference 27
Don't know 3

 

Q15 Which party did you vote for at the General Election in May 1997? If you are not sure, or did not vote, please say so.
  %
Conservative 21
Labour 45
Lib Dem 10
Scot / Welsh Nationalist 2
Referendum Party 1
Green Party *
Other 1
Did not vote 16
Too young 1
Can't remember 1
Refused 2

Technical details

MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 2,122 adults aged 18+ at 169 sampling points across Great Britain. Fieldwork was conducted face-to-face on 12-15 December 1997. Base: All respondents, unless stated.

The voting intention figures exclude those who say they would not vote (9%), are undecided (4%) or refuse to name a party (1%). All figures are in percentages. Where percentages do not sum to 100, this may be due to multiple responses, the exclusion of don't knows or computer rounding. Data were weighted to match the profile of the population. An asterisk (*) denotes a figure between zero and 0.5%.

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