State of the Nation Survey 1995

MORI interviewed a nationally representative quota sample of 1,758 adults aged 18+ at 313 enumeration district sampling points across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted face-to-face, in home, on 21 April-8 May 1995. Data were weighted to match the profile of the population. Further "booster" samples of 222 adults aged 18+ at 32 sampling points across Scotland and 161 adults aged 18+ at 23 sampling points across Wales, to allow for separate analysis of opinion in those countries on some issues, but except where noted data from the booster samples are not included in the figures given below, which are based wholly on the main sample of 1,034 adults.

Q1 How would you vote if there were a General Election tomorrow? (If undecided or refused at Q1a) Q2 Which party are you most inclined to support? Base: All expressing a voting intention (1,472)

	%
Conservative	24
Labour	55
Liberal Democrat	16
Scottish National Party/Plaid Cymru	3
Green	1
Other	1

Q3 And which party would be your second preference? Base: All expressing a voting intention (1,472)

	All	Conservative voters	Labour voters	Lib Dem voters
	%	%	%	%
Conservative	9	2	8	20
Labour	14	17	2	47
Liberal Democrat	40	43	52	*
Scottish National Party/Plaid Cymru	4	2	6	5
Green	6	5	6	6
Other	1	2	1	*
Would not vote	9	12	10	6
Undecided/don't know	14	16	14	14
Refused	1	1	1	1

Q4 From this card, how interested would you say you are in politics?

	%
Very interested	13
Fairly interested	40
Not very interested	30
Not at all interested	17
Don't know	*

Trends on this question

Q5 Which of these statements best describes your opinion on the present system of governing Britain?

	%
Works extremely well and could not be improved	3
Could be improved in small ways but mainly works well	19
Could be improved quite a lot	40
Needs a great deal of improvement	35
Don't know	3

Trends on this question

Q6 In what ways, in particular, do you think the system could be improved? Base: All who think the system could be improved (1,344)

	%
National Health Service problems/more money for NHS	20
Better education policy/more money for education	14
Unemployment/need for jobs	10
More interest in working class/take notice of man in the street	8
Proportional representation	5
Better system generally	5
Don't know/no answer	22
Other answers (4% and below) omitted

Q7 Overall, how well or badly do you think Parliament works?

	%
Very well	4
Fairly well	39
Neither well nor badly	22
Fairly badly	19
Very badly	11
Don't know	6

Trends on this question

Q8 On balance, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the job the local MP is doing for this constituency?

	%
Satisfied	43
Dissatisfied	23
Don't know/no opinion	34

 Q9-17 I am going to read out a list, and I would like you to tell me, from this card, how much, if anything, you feel you know about each one?

		A great deal	A fair amount	Just a little	Hardly anything at all	Never heard of	Don't know
The European Union	%	2	17	35	39	5	1
The House of Lords	%	3	19	40	36	*	1
Your local council	%	5	27	42	24	*	1
Your rights as a citizen	%	6	37	35	20	1	2
Proportional representation	%	5	20	28	33	11	3
The way Parliament works	%	4	28	37	28	1	2
The British constitution	%	3	18	30	39	6	3
Constitutional role of the monarchy	%	5	28	34	28	3	2
The Courts	%	5	28	40	25	1	1

Trends on these questions

Q18-25 And to what extent are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way each is doing its job these days?

		Very satisfied	Fairly satisfied	Neither satisfied nor dissat-isfied	Fairly dissat-isfied	Very dissat-isfied	No opinion
The European Union	%	1	17	33	21	12	17
The House of Lords	%	2	26	34	16	9	14
Your local council	%	5	44	23	14	7	7
The way Parliament works	%	2	32	27	22	9	8
The British constitution	%	2	27	36	10	4	21
Constitutional role of the monarchy	%	7	34	26	12	8	12
The Courts	%	2	32	23	24	11	8

Q26 If you had to choose, which one of the things on this card would you say is most important? Q27 And which would be the next most important?

	Most important	Next most important
	%	%
Maintaining order in the nation	36	25
Giving people more say in important government decisions	36	27
Fighting rising prices	13	19
Protecting freedom of speech	14	26
Don't know	1	2

Q28 Do you think that Parliament should decide all important issues, or would you like Britain to adopt a referendum system whereby certain issues are put to the people to decide by popular vote?

	%
Government decide	19
Referendum	77
Don't know	5

Q29 In principle, do you think it would be a good or a bad idea if the British people could force the Government to hold a referendum on a particular issue by raising a petition with signatures from, say, a million electors?

	%
Good idea	77
Bad idea	15
Neither	3
No opinion	4

Q30-34 More specifically, would you personally like to see a referendum held to decide on each of the following?

		Yes, hold	No, do not hold	Don't know
Hold a referendum on re-introducing the death penalty	%	69	27	4
Hold a referendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union (Common Market)	%	62	28	9
Hold a referendum on changing the system we use to elect MPs	%	46	43	11
Hold a referendum on whether the pound sterling should be part of a single European currency	%	61	29	10
Hold a referendum in Scotland to decide whether a Scottish assembly, with some taxation and spending powers, should be set up	%	56	24	20

Q35 If a majority in Scotland voted in a referendum in favour of setting up a separate Scottish assembly, with some taxation and spending powers, do you think they should be allowed one or not?

	%
Yes, should be allowed	69
No, should not be allowed	17
Don't know	14

Q36-44 This card has pairs of alternative statements on it. If you greatly prefer or very strongly agree with option (a), you would choose this box (1). If you greatly prefer or very strongly agree with option (b), you would choose this box (7). You may of course choose a number somewhere between the two.

	%
1 (a) Clearer differences between the parties	8
2	8
3	8
4	15
5	17
6	19
7 (b) More agreement and working together between parties	20
Don't know	5
Mean score	4.84

	%
1 (a) One member of Parliament to represent the area you live in	25
2	15
3	7
4	13
5	13
6	13
7 (b) Several members of Parliament to represent a larger area, possibly from different parties	10
Don't know	5
Mean score	3.65

	%
1 (a) Marking your ballot against one name, as at present	27
2	10
3	6
4	10
5	12
6	14
7 (b) Marking your ballot so you could indicate your first second and third choices	16
Don't know	5
Mean score	3.87

	%
1 (a) One party in government with all others in opposition	22
2	10
3	8
4	16
5	12
6	12
7 (b) Two or more parties forming a coalition government	13
Don't know	6
Mean score	3.97

	%
1 (a) It is important for a government to be strong and stable, even if it occasionally goes too far	14
2	13
3	11
4	14
5	14
6	15
7 (b) Achieving agreement is important for a government, even if it means more elections	14
Don't know	5
Mean score	4.22

	%
1 (a) It is important for a government to be able to take decisive action without looking over its shoulder all the time	10
2	9
3	8
4	15
5	15
6	18
7 (b) Constitutional checks and balances are important to make sure that a government doesn't overdo it	20
Don't know	5
Mean score	4.74

	%
1 (a) The current electoral system should be retained as it preserves two strong parties, each able to form government	15
2	12
3	9
4	22
5	13
6	12
7 (b) The two-party system is now an obstacle to progress in Britain by blocking the advance of other parties and narrowing the range of alternative policies	12
Don't know	6
Mean score	4.20

	%
1 (a) People in this party of the country have particular social and economic interests that would be best served by an elected regional assembly	14
2	11
3	12
4	19
5	10
6	13
7 (b) The people of the UK are best governed as a whole from Parliament	15
Don't know	6
Mean score	4.22

	%
1 (a) Moves towards economic and political union with Europe will weaken Britain's ability to protect British interests by handing power to Europe	18
2	10
3	9
4	23
5	11
6	10
7 (b) Moves towards economic and political union with Europe will strengthen Britain's ability to protect British interests by gaining collective power	11
Don't know	7
Mean score	4.03

Q45-48 Now I am going to read out a number of policies, and I would like you to tell me, from this card, whether you support or oppose each.

		Strongly support	Tend to support	Neither/ nor	Tend to oppose	Strongly oppose	Don't know
Making political parties publish the identity of those who make large financial donations	%	47	28	11	8	4	3
Changing Britain's current electoral system to a system of proportional representation	%	18	28	22	13	8	11
Fixing the length of a parliament so removing the power of government to choose the date of an election	%	23	34	18	12	6	6
Replacing the House of Lords with an elected second chamber	%	19	24	23	15	9	11

Trends on support for: proportional representation; fixed-term Parliaments; House of Lords reform.

Q49-57 Now I would like to ask you some questions about freedom and individual rights in Great Britain.

I am going to read out a number of statements, and I would like you to tell me, from this card, whether you agree or disagree with each one.

		Strongly agree	Tend to agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Tend to disagree	Strongly disagree	No opinion
Britain needs a written constitution providing clear legal rules within which Government ministers and civil servants are forced to operate	%	37	42	9	5	1	6
Individual citizens' rights are less well protected in Britain than in the rest of the European Community	%	16	27	23	16	4	15
This country should adopt a new voting system that would give parties seats in Parliament in proportion to their share of the votes	%	23	38	14	13	6	6
Holding general elections every 4-5 years does not give the public enough power over the way the government acts	%	19	33	14	23	6	5
The system of government in Britain is out of date	%	18	32	17	22	6	5
We should retain the current voting system as it is more likely to produce single-party government	%	14	33	16	24	8	5
The British government can change individual citizens' rights too easily	%	22	41	15	14	2	6
Parliament does not have sufficient control over what the government does	%	13	39	21	15	3	9
There should be a freedom of information act, giving the right of access to information collected by public authorities, subject to adequate safeguards on national security, crime prevention and personal privacy	%	42	39	8	4	2	4

Q58 Now thinking about the running of Scotland, which of these options would you most like to see?

	All Great Britain	Scotland*
	%	%
An independent Scotland, which is separate from both England and Wales and the European Community	5	9
An independent Scotland, which is separate from England and Wales but part of the European Community	10	20
Scotland remaining part of the UK but with its own devolved assembly with some taxation and spending powers	50	52
No change from present system	24	17
Don't know	10	2

*Figures for Scotland include the booster sample

Q59 Would you support or oppose giving greater powers of government to Wales? Q60 And would you support or oppose giving greater powers of government to Northern Ireland? Q61 And would you support or oppose giving greater powers of government to other regions of Britain, such as the West Country, the North West, East Anglia etc?

	To Wales	To Northern Ireland	To other regions
	All GB	Wales*	All GB	All GB
	%	%	%	%
Yes, support	49	67	49	26
No, oppose	34	23	32	60
Don't know	18	10	20	15

*Figures for Wales include the booster sample 

Q62 Here are some things people say are important about democracy. Please look at this card and tell me which two you think are most important about democracy.

	%
Living in a free country	65
Strong and effective government	27
An equal society	42
Popular control over government decision	22
A free market economy	10
Voting for a government in elections	27
Other	1
None of these	*
Don't know	2

Q63 In Britain, how much power would you say ordinary voters should have over government policies between elections? Q64 And in Britain how much power would you say ordinary voters do have over government policies between elections?

	Should	Do
	%	%
A great deal	22	1
A fair amount	53	8
A little	16	52
None at all	4	33
Don't know	5	6

Q65 Now I'd like to ask some detailed questions about a Bill of Rights, which some people have been talking about. On this card is a list of rights that some people have said should be included in a Bill of Rights. I'd like you to look through the list slowly to see what kind of things are on it. Now, I'd like you to go through the list again and tell me which, if any, you personally think should be included in a Bill of Rights. You can choose as many or as few as you like. Q66 And now, looking through the list again, could you tell me which, if any, you think should be excluded from a Bill of Rights. You can choose as many or as few as you like.

	Include	Exclude
	%	%
Right to hospital treatment on the NHS within a reasonable time	88	2
Right to a fair trial before a jury	82	1
Right to privacy in your phone and mail communications	75	2
Right to know what information government departments hold about you	74	4
Right to join, or not join, a trade union	71	4
Right to join a legal strike without risking losing your job	63	7
Right of a woman to have an abortion	60	10
Right of those who are homeless to be housed	60	9
Right to practice your religion without state interference	60	9
Right of free assembly for peaceful meetings or demonstrations	59	6
Right of British subjects to equal treatment on entering and leaving the UK, irrespective of colour or race	59	7
Right of the press to report on matters of public interest	53	13
Right of a defendant to remain silent in court without prejudicing his case	32	29
None of these	1	32
Don't know	2	13

Q67-70 I am going to read out a number of views about how fundamental rights and liberties can best be protected in Britan today. Can you tell me to what extent you agree or disagree with each?

		Strongly agree	Tend to agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Tend to disagree	Strongly disagree	No opinion
The good sense of elected politicians means a Bill of Rights isn't needed in Britain today	%	2	15	17	38	22	5
Governments with a large majority in Parliament cannot always be trusted to respect our rights and liberties	%	26	48	11	9	2	4
Britain needs a Bill of Rights to protect the liberty of the individual	%	34	45	11	6	2	3
In Britain, the rights of individual citizens are better protected by the force of public opinion than by formal legal safeguards	%	10	32	24	21	6	7

Q71 Here is a list of things that some MPs do. Which, if any, do you think MPs should be allowed to do? Q72 And which, if any, do you think MPs should be banned from doing?

	Allow	Ban
	%	%
Having any paid job outside Parliament	28	48
Being paid to write articles for newspapers and magazines	35	43
Receiving fees from private companies in return for lobbying on their behalf at Westminster	3	78
Being sponsored by trade unions towards election and campaigning costs in their constituencies	21	48
Carrying on a trade or profession (e.g. as a farmer, lawyer, dentist, etc) while being an MP	45	33
Being the paid representative of a non-commercial interest group (e.g. the Police Federation)	21	44
Receiving fees from specialist lobbying companies to promote their clients' interests at Westminster	2	76
Asking questions in Parliament for money	3	83
Speaking or voting on issues where they stand to gain financially	4	73
Speaking or voting on issues which affect commercial interests or private companies from which they receive payments	4	73
Other	1	1
None of these	8	3
Don't know	22	1

Q73 Do you think that MPs should or should not be allowed to take jobs in companies they have dealt with as government ministers within two years of leaving office? Q74 And do you think that senior civil servants should or should not be allowed to take jobs in companies they have dealt with as civil servants within two years of leaving their official positions?

	Ministers	Civil servants
	%	%
Should	15	19
Should not	78	70
Don't know	8	11

Q75 At the moment, MPs as a whole make and enforce the rules which govern their conduct in Parliament. Which of these comes closest to your own view, from what you know or have heard?

	%
The existing system of rules, with MPs making and enforcing them, works well and should not be changed	8
The existing rules should be tightened up and enforced by MPs, without involving the police, courts or any outside body	19
The rules should be made law, with an independent commission and civil courts overseeing MPs' conduct	38
The rules should be made law, making breaches a crime investigated by the police and punishable by the criminal courts	29
Other	*
Don't know	9

Q76-80 Many important public services are now managed by "quangos" - boards of people appointed by the Government. I am going to read out a number of statements about how services might be run in future, and for each one could you tell me to what extent you agree or disagree?

		Strongly agree	Tend to agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Tend to disagree	Strongly disagree	No opinion
Government ministers should have the right to appoint whoever they think is most suitable to run quangos	%	4	22	14	27	23	10
All appointments to quangos should be subject to scrutiny by parliamentary committees	%	28	44	10	4	3	11
Quangos should hold their board meetings in public and make all their board papers available to the public, subject to protection of commercial confidentiality and people's privacy	%	44	37	6	2	1	10
There should be clear legal rules to ensure that all quango boards are balanced in their composition	%	39	41	7	1	1	10
The general public should have a say in appointing some people to each quango	%	33	38	10	7	3	10

Q81 How do you think accusations of serious professional misconduct by government ministers should be investigated?

	%
The Prime Minister should make enquiries, as now, into whether the allegations are true and decide if the minister should resign	11
The House of Commons should make enquiries and decide if the minister should resign	12
An independent official commission should investigate and decide whether ministers should resign	47
The police should investigate and decide whether or not ministers should face trial in court	31
Don't know	3

Q82 Which of the things on this list, if any, have you done in the last two or three years?

	%
Presented my views to a local councillor	20
Presented my views to an MP	12
Written a letter to a newspaper	12
Urged someone outside my family to vote	24
Urged someone to get in touch with a local councillor	26
Urged someone to get in touch with an MP	19
Made a speech before an organisation/group	15
Been elected an officer of an organisation or club	15
Stood for public office	1
Taken an active part in a political campaign	5
Helped on fund raising drives	33
None of these	34

Trends on this question

Q83 And which of these, if any, have you done in the last two or three years?

	%
Voted in the last council election	69
Been to a meeting of a local political party	7
Been to a meeting of an interest group, charity or organisation	28
Given money to an interest group, charity or organisation	60
Voted in the European elections	29
Taken part in a demonstration, picket, march or sit-in	7
Signed a petition	55
Served on a jury	4
Served as a school governor	2
Served as a local magistrate	*
Made use of the Citizen's Charter to complain about a public service	5
None of the