State of the Nation
A new Ipsos poll for the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust finds that there is a demand for further devolution of powers among Britons, with a majority feeling that power is currently too centralised.
A new Ipsos poll for the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust finds that there is a demand for further devolution of powers among Britons, with a majority feeling that power is currently too centralised. The findings include:
- 62% feel that government power in Britain is too centralised, with 13% in disagreement
- 85% believe that local communities should have more of a say in the decisions that affect them
- 65% are in favour of reducing the power of parliament and giving more power to local, municipal or regional government in England
- There is some support for constitutional reform, with 50% agreeing the country should adopt a new voting system based on the systems of proportional representation, compared to 22% who disagree
- 72% feel that constituents should be able to sack their MP if a petition attracts enough support among constituents
- The public believe they should have more say over government policies, with 84% saying they think ordinary voters should have a great deal or a fair amount of say, even though only 27% think this is currently the case
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Technical note
- Topline results are based on 2,008 responses to the Ipsos Omnibus.
- Respondents are British adults aged 15+.
- Fieldwork took place face-to-face between 18-24 July 2014.
- The survey data were weighted to be nationally representative of GB adults.
- An * denotes a percentage which is greater than 0 but less than 0.5.
- Where responses do not sum to 100% this is either because the question was multi response or due to percentage rounding.
