Questions for Women
Q1 How do you intend to vote at the General Election on May 1? (If undecided or refused at Q1) Q2 Which party are you most inclined to support? Base: All first time electors (800)
- MORI On-Line surveys interviewed a representative quota sample of 800 women aged 18+ by telephone on 26-27 March, 1997
- An asterisk (*) denotes a figure below 0.5, but not zero.
- Research study conducted for The Mail on Sunday
Q1 How do you intend to vote at the General Election on May 1? (If undecided or refused at Q1) Q2 Which party are you most inclined to support? Base: All first time electors (800)
| Conservative |  30% |
| Labour |  52% |
| Liberal Democrats |  14% |
| Scottish/Welsh Nationalist |  1% |
| Referendum Party |  1% |
| Green Party |  1% |
| Other |  1% |
| Would not vote | 6% |
| Undecided | 16% |
| Refused | 4% |
Q3 Which of the party leaders, John Major, the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, the leader of the Labour Party or Paddy Ashdown, the Liberal Democrat leader, would be the best Prime Minister?
| John Major | 25% |
| Tony Blair | 36% |
| Paddy Ashdown | 12% |
| None | 10% |
| Don't know | 17% |
Q4 I am going to read out a list of words that could describe a person. As I read each one, could you tell me which leader each word most applies to? Does each word apply most to John Major/Tony Blair/Paddy Ashdown?
| John Major | Tony Blair | Paddy Ashdown | All equal | None | Don't know | |
| % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Experienced | 66 | 7 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Trustworthy | 23 | 22 | 13 | 5 | 29 | 8 |
| Competent | 25 | 37 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 |
| Sincere | 25 | 25 | 19 | 7 | 20 | 4 |
| Strong | 21 | 38 | 16 | 7 | 12 | 6 |
| Wise | 27 | 21 | 18 | 7 | 18 | 9 |
Q5 I am now going to read out another list that could describe a person. As I read each one, could you tell me which leader each word most applies to? Does each word apply most to John Major/Tony Blair/Paddy Ashdown?
| John Major | Tony Blair | Paddy Ashdown | All equal | None | Don't know | |
| % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Superficial/shallow | 25 | 25 | 10 | 7 | 19 | 10 |
| Weak | 43 | 9 | 13 | 4 | 22 | 9 |
| Hypocritical | 33 | 20 | 6 | 19 | 13 | 9 |
| Patronising | 33 | 25 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 9 |
| Only wants to get elected | 26 | 32 | 8 | 22 | 8 | 4 |
Q6 Still thinking about the party leaders, which of the three of them do you feel has the most appealing:
| John Major | Tony Blair | Paddy Ashdown | All equal | None | Don't know | |
| % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Looks | 8 | 45 | 19 | 3 | 20 | 5 |
| Manner | 26 | 41 | 21 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| And which leader would make the best father? | 15 | 34 | 13 | 12 | 5 | 21 |
| Which leader would you most trust to invest your money with? | 21 | 22 | 11 | 1 | 32 | 6 |
| Which would you prefer as a next door neighbour? | 28 | 26 | 23 | 6 | 19 | 5 |
| To which would you confide a personal problem? | 20 | 17 | 15 | 2 | 39 | 7 |
Q7 I am going to read out a list of policy areas. Could you tell me which of the party leaders, Mr Major, Mr Blair or Mr Ashdown would be best on each of these things, if elected Prime Minister?
| John Major | Tony Blair | Paddy Ashdown | All equal | None | Don't know | |
| % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Education | 22 | 48 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| The economy | 39 | 32 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 11 |
| Taxation | 32 | 35 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 13 |
| NHS * | 13 | 54 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 12 |
| Representing Britain in Europe | 36 | 35 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| Fighting crime | 24 | 34 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 15 |
*Asked of a part sample only, n=594
Q8 Now some questions about the party leaders wives, Norma Major, Cherie Blair and Jane Ashdown. Which of the wives do you think:
| Norma Major | Cherie Blair | Jane Ashdown | All equal | None | Don't know | |
| % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Would be the biggest help to her husband in a crisis | 31 | 31 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 22 |
| Would be the best asset to Britain when accompanying her husband abroad | 27 | 39 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 23 |
| Would be the best mother | 22 | 21 | 5 | 18 | 1 | 33 |
| Would be a best role model for women generally | 21 | 40 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 23 |
| Would make the best wife for a British Prime Minister overall | 31 | 35 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 23 |
Q9 There have been a number of stories recently accusing Conservative MPs of misconduct. What do you think John Major should do....*
| Sack or deselect them before the General Election |  41% |
| Wait until Parliament has had time to consider the report into their behaviour | 52% |
| Don't know | 7% |
*Asked of part of sample, n=538
Technical details
MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 800 women aged 18+. Interviews conducted by telephone on March 26th and 27th, 1997. At the analysis stage, the data were weighted to match the population profile. 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. An asterisk (*) denotes a figure below 0.5, but not zero.
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