Political Commentary - Concern About The Economy At Highest Point In Nearly Ten Years

For the second month in a row, Ipsos's Political Monitor data shows that public concern about the economy has moved into the top five issues facing the country. Almost one in five people (18%) spontaneously mention the economy when asked "what would you say is / are the most important issue(s) facing Britain today?".

The last time concern about the economy was this high was in late 1998 / early 1999, likely in reaction to the East Asian Financial Crisis.

In addition, Ipsos's monthly Economic Optimism question shows that just 7% of the British population feel that the general condition of the economy will improve over the next 12 months, and more than half (54%) think it will get worse. A third (33%) think it will stay the same.

Our Economic Optimism Index (those who think it will improve minus those who think it will get worse) is currently at -47%, a very slight improvement from -51% in January. These figures are as low as those measured immediately after 9/11 and the start of the war in Iraq.

• Download the slides pdf, 79KB

Please look out for our Pre-Budget Slide Pack on Tuesday 11th March. This slide pack will contain data on satisfaction with the Chancellor as well as our quarterly Delivery Index data, including the public's views and expectations of public services and the economy. Recent Delivery Index findings (from November 2007) are available here: The Ipsos Delivery Index.

Technical details

• Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 2,063 adults aged 18+ at 198 sampling points across Great Britain.
• Data above is based on a representative sample of 1,037 individuals.
• Fieldwork was conducted face-to-face on 21-26 February 2008.
• Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.