• Ipsos
  • News & Events : News
  • Support for nurses’ strikes lower than last month’s but blame placed mainly with the Government

Support for nurses’ strikes lower than last month’s but blame placed mainly with the Government

Health

The latest Ipsos poll reveals that only 3 in 10 (30%) oppose the planned nurses' strikes.

Download
The author(s)
  • Gideon Skinner Public Affairs
  • Keiran Pedley Public Affairs
  • Cameron Garrett Public Affairs
  • Laura King Public Affairs
  • Ben Roff Public Affairs
Get in touch
 
  • Support for the planned nurses’ strikes in England is lower than similar strikes across the UK received last month
  • However, sympathy remains high for nurses and ambulance workers as nearly 3 in 5 say the Government is more at fault for the length of the industrial dispute than nurses themselves
  • While opinion is split as to whether unions have enough or too much power, a large majority agree they are important to protect workers’ interests

Ipsos’ latest poll shows  45% support the upcoming  strike action by nurses in England, which is lower than the 50% who supported similar nurse strikes across the UK in December and 59% in November. However, still only 3 in 10 (30%) oppose the strikes. . Support is significantly higher among 2019 Labour voters, 65% are in favour of the strikes while 2019 Conservative voters are half as likely to say the same (32%).
 As you may be aware, a number of nurses in England are planning strike action for two days next week (18th and 19th January). The strike action excludes certain types of care, such as emergency intervention to preserve life or prevent permanent disability. To what extent, if at all, do you support or oppose the planned strike action by nurses? Labour 65% 18% Conservative 32% 46% 55-75 43% 37% 35-54 48% 27% 18-34 42% 25% November 2022 59% 24% December 2022 50% 34% January 2023 45% 30%
Support for ambulance drivers is similar, with 45% in favour and 30% opposed. While support for these strikes has fallen by 2ppt since December, opposition has fallen by 7ppt.
Nurses themselves do not appear to be getting the blame for how long the dispute is lasting. Almost 3 in 5 (57%) say the Government is at fault for the longevity of the debate compared to a quarter (25%) saying the Government and nurses are both at fault, and only 9% whole believe the blame lies with the nurses.

From what you know and/or have heard about the industrial dispute between the government and nurses, which of the following statements if either, comes closest to your view? (% The government is more at fault for the dispute lasting this long / % both at fault / % The nurses are more at fault for the dispute lasting this long Labour 81% 8% 6% Conservatives 38% 40% 14% All 57% 25% 9%

From what they know about the strikes, large majorities continue to feel sympathy towards nurses (82%) and ambulance workers (80%), however they are most likely to feel sympathy towards NHS patients (90%). Around 3 in 5 (61%) are sympathetic towards unions representing nurses and ambulance workers while just under half say the same for NHS management (46%). Just a quarter (26%) feel sympathy for the UK Government, compared to 7 in 10 (70%) who don’t.

As various professions vote to start or continue striking,  junior doctors (47%) and teachers (41%) are most likely to be supported, along with refuse collectors and street cleaners (38%) and postal workers (36%). Those most likely to be opposed are barristers working on criminal cases (41%), traffic wardens (40%), railway workers (38%) and civil servants (38%).

As you may know, workers from some other sectors have been considering or have participated in strikes this year. From what you know or have heard, to what extent, if at all, do you support or oppose strikes by each of the following, if they did decide to strike? % Support / % Oppose Junior Doctors 47% 27% Teachers 41% 33% Refuse collectors and street cleaners 38% 31% Postal workers 36% 34% Bus drivers and other bus workers 35% 33% Railway workers 34% 38% Civil servants 30% 38% Border force/ passport control staff 29% 34% Barristers working on criminal cases 26% 41% Traffic wardens 26% 40% Driving examiners 24% 37%

Trade Union Power

Around a third believe trade unions have too much power in Britain today (34%), seeing little change on our tracker since June 2022. We have seen more fluctuation in the proportion who say they have about the right amount, now 33% believe this is the case, up from 25% in June of last year. Meanwhile, after a significant drop last month (30% in September to 19% in December), the proportion who believe trade unions do not have enough power remains consistent (19%).

In comparison, 32% say employers have too much power, 44% say they have the right amount and 10% say they have too much. Only 1 in 10 (11%) believe workers have too much power, 38% say they have the right amount while the same proportion (38%) believe they have too little.

Do you think the following have too much, too little, or about the right amount of power in Britain today? (January 2023 Too much % / Too little % Trade Unions 34% 19% Employers 32% 10% Workers 11% 38%

A large majority say it is important to have trade unions to protect workers’ interests (79%), falling slightly from 83% last September and 85% last June. Only 13% say they are not important.

Technical note

Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,080 adults aged 18-75 in Great Britain. Interviews took place on the online Omnibus 13th-16th January 2023. Data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.

Download
The author(s)
  • Gideon Skinner Public Affairs
  • Keiran Pedley Public Affairs
  • Cameron Garrett Public Affairs
  • Laura King Public Affairs
  • Ben Roff Public Affairs

More insights about Health

Society