Gordon Brown has been rated the most successful post-War Chancellor in an exclusive Ipsos poll of nearly 300 academics belonging to the Political Studies Association (PSA).
The British public continue to be sceptical about the government's ability to improve the state of Britain's economy and public services, according to the latest Ipsos Government Delivery Index — our regular 'health check' on government performance and public expectations for the future of the economy and public services.
Ipsos's November Political Monitor latest voting intentions (based on all those who say they are certain to vote) gives the Conservatives 35%, Labour 33% and the Liberal Democrats 20%, a swing of 2.5% from Labour to Conservatives since General Election.
Gordon Brown has a clear lead over John Reid as being seen as the most capable Prime Minister and in understanding Britain's problems according to the latest Ipsos poll for The Sun.
Ipsos's October Political Monitor shows that Labour retains a small voting intentions lead over the Conservatives among the 56% of the electorate who say they are absolutely certain to vote. Tony Blair has also seen a rise in the proportion of the public satisfied with his performance as Prime Minister, up from 26% in early September to 32% now, though a majority of the public remain dissatisfied (60%) with him. The proportion of the public satisfied with David Cameron as Conservative party leader stands at 31%, exactly the same as first measured by Ipsos in January of this year. However the proportion dissatisfied with Cameron has almost doubled over this time, from 17% to 32%. More than a third (37%) say they don't know if they are satisfied or dissatisfied with Cameron.
Research conducted by Ipsos for the Young Foundation shows that the British public believe political parties have an important role to play in democracy. Half the public (49%) say that political parties in Britain enable the people to have a voice; and a similar number also disagree that Britain would be better off if political parties did not exist and all politicians were independent. At the same time, fewer than a quarter believe that parties are open and transparent, and the most popular approaches to making parties more appealing would be for them to involve people more in local decision making and for them to listen more to the public.
The British public are increasingly sceptical of the Government's ability to improve public services, according to the latest Ipsos Government Delivery Index - our regular 'health check' on government performance and public expectations. This scepticism is particularly apparent with the NHS, for which public expectations have reached a record low.
According to the latest Ipsos Government Delivery Index, two in five British adults (40%) think that the Government's policies will improve the state of Britain's economy in the long-term, although slightly more (46%) disagree, giving a net optimism score of -6. This is slightly higher than the net score of -13 in May 2006.
