Political Attitudes in Great Britain for December 1998

Research study conducted for The Times Newspaper MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,864 adults aged 18+ at 155 sampling points across Great Britain between 11-14 December 1998.

Research study conducted for The Times Newspaper MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,864 adults aged 18+ at 155 sampling points across Great Britain between 11-14 December 1998.

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? Base: 1,864
  %
Conservative 27
Labour 54
Liberal Democrats 12
Scottish/Welsh Nationalist 4
Green Party 1
Referendum Party *
Other 5
Would not vote 10
Undecided 8
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? Base: 979
  Satisfied Dissatisfied Don't know Index
  % % % 177
Government 46 40 14 +6
Blair 60 29 11 +31
Hague 24 51 25 -27
Ashdown 48 21 31 +27

 

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? Base: 979
  Q7 Q7/8
  % %
National Health Service/Hospitals 10 34
Common Market/EU/Europe/Single European Currency 24 32
Unemployment/factory closure/lack of industry 16 30
Education/schools 6 26
Economy/economic situation 8 18
Crime/law & order/violence/vandalism 5 17
Pensions/welfare security 3 10
Housing 2 8
Poverty/inequality 2 8
Race relations/immigration/immigrants 3 7
Drug abuse 2 6
Inflation/prices 2 6
Defence/foreign affairs 2 5
Morality/individual behaviour 2 5
Transport/public transport 1 4
Low pay/minimum wage/fair wages * 3
Pollution/environment 1 3
Taxation 1 3
Northern Ireland * 2
Beef/BSE/Mad Cow Disease * 1
Countryside/rural life * 1
Nuclear weapons/nuclear war/disarmament * 1
Pound/exchange rate/value of pound * 1
Privatisation * 1
Scottish/Welsh Assembly/Devolution/Constitutional reform * 1
Local government/council tax 0 1
Animal welfare * *
AIDS 0 *
Trade unions/strikes 0 0
Other 2 5
Don't know 7 6

 

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? Base: 979
  %
Improve 16
Stay the same 30
Get worse 46
Don't know 38
MORI Economic Optimism Index (EOI) -30%

 

Q10 Which of these statements comes closest to your view of Mr Blair? Base: 979
  %
I like him and I like his policies 42
I like him but I dislike his policies 22
I dislike him but I like his policies 9
I dislike him and I dislike his policies 15
No opinion 12

 

Q11 Which of these statements comes closest to your view of Mr Hague? Base: 979
  %
I like him and I like his policies 10
I like him but I dislike his policies 14
I dislike him but I like his policies 13
I dislike him and I dislike his policies 36
No opinion 27

 

When Tony Blair became Prime Minister in May 1997 he said 'Things can only get better'. Q12 Since the General Election in May 1997, how, if at all, would you say things have changed for Britain as a whole? Would you say that things have got better or worse, or have things stayed the same? Q13 Since the General Election in May 1997, how, if at all, would you say things have changed for you personally? Would you say that things have got better or worse, or have things stayed the same? Base: 979
  Britain Personally
  Q12 Q13
  % %
Much better 2 3
A little better 24 12
Stayed the same 45 60
A little worse 20 17
Much worse 6 7
Don't know 3 1
Better 26 15
Worse 26 18
Net better (+) 0 -3

Technical details

MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,864 adults aged 18+ at 155 sampling points across Great Britain. Fieldwork was conducted face-to-face on 11-14 December 1998. Base: All respondents, unless stated. The voting intention figures exclude those who say they would not vote (10%), are undecided (8%) 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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