New research conducted in partnership with the FT finds widespread dissatisfaction with the UK governing system as well as the people who are in it. But still politicians are second in the list of professions who are considered to have the skills and qualities required to be a UK Prime Minister, behind business leaders.
New research for the Financial Times shows the mountain the Conservative party and its leader Michael Howard has to climb before the next general election. Most people do not believe there would be better public services and lower taxes under a future Conservative government, with just in five people (21%) thinking public services would improve and 15% thinking taxes would be lower. A third (32%) believes Tony Blair would make the best Prime Minister, compared to a fifth (21%) who pick Howard.
After more than 100 days as leader of the Conservative Party, half the British public say they do not think Michael Howard is ready to be Prime Minister. When asked the same question four months ago , 30% of the public agreed that Michael Howard was ready to be Prime Minister and 48% disagreed. MORI's latest findings show that now 31% think Howard is ready (up one point), and 51% think he is not (up three points).
Three in five Londoners (59%) believe that the War on Iraq was unjustified, according to research by MORI on behalf of the Greater London Authority. Three in 10 (29%) believe it was justified. Nearly half (48%) now feel less safe living in London because of the War on Iraq, and three per cent who feel more safe.
There's no "bounce" yet evident in the public's voting intention for the Conservative Party after the Tory MPs' choice of Michael Howard as the Leader of the Party. Taking the voting intention expressed last week, before the deposing of Iain Duncan Smith (which was by then widely anticipated) and this weekend, when it became evident there would be only one candidate for the Tory leadership going forward, the Conservatives are down, not up, by three percentage points, to the benefit of the Liberal Democrats, Labour remaining the same at 38 percent.
While Labour may still retain a lead over the Conservatives in the polls, the latest MORI survey results for the Financial Times show that the public are far from happy with the Prime Minister's performance. Two in five (43%) say the Prime Minister is out of touch with ordinary people and half the public say it is now time for him to resign and hand over to someone else (39% disagree).
People are losing trust in Labour's ability to improve the economy and public services, according to a new survey by the MORI Social Research Institute. The general public are just as likely to trust the Conservatives to do the best job of improving the economy, education and transport in this country, as they are to trust Labour. Only a third (32%) believe that the Government's policies will improve the state of Britain's economy, and only just over a quarter (28%) believe that they will improve public services, down from 54% in 2001.
Tony Blair is facing trouble on three fronts, according to new research from the MORI Social Research Institute for the News of the World. On delivery we find the government receiving a negative rating from the public on five key priority areas — education, NHS, crime, asylum and transport. On trust, Mr Blair scores lower than during the fuel crisis three years ago, with 58% finding him untrustworthy. Gordon Brown's trust ratings, on the other hand, have improved over the same period, and he is the clear front-runner as Blair's successor in the eyes of the public and Labour supporters. On party support the survey shows Labour and the Conservatives now level-pegging both on 35% with the Lib Dems on 19%. The only good news for Mr Blair comes in the 'most capable PM' question, which shows him some way ahead of Iain Duncan Smith and Charles Kennedy.
Public satisfaction with Tony Blair's premiership has fallen as he passes the two-year mark in his second term, new MORI analysis for the BBC has shown, but he remains on course for re-election.
