The last week has been a time for reflection - to look back at the climactic events of 12 months ago, and what has happened since. The focus of course has been on America, on the families affected, on New York, and on George W Bush and his administration. From their vantage point this side of the Atlantic, what are the perceptions of the British public, and how have they reacted to the events of the past year?
Recent coverage of the deaths of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman shows at least some members of the public are still very much in favour of the death penalty - but is it still a majority?
This week saw the publication of the final wave of research from the People's Panel, the survey for the Cabinet Office which MORI has been conducting since 1998 and which the government decided to wind up earlier this year. The survey measures use of and satisfaction with a wide range of public services, and how well informed the public feels about them.
Delivery, delivery, delivery. The performance of the Government on improving public services is now seen as the litmus test that will determine its long-term future, and the Chancellor's spending announcements this week are confirmation, if any were needed, that it is their success in this field on which the Blair administration expects to stand or fall.
Since the late 1980s, telephone interviewing has become an increasingly effective way of conducting research among the general public. With telephone ownership rising above 90%, it became possible to interview representative samples of the public; the fast turnaround of results and the opportunity for tight control over the interview process have provided researchers with some real advantages over face-to-face methods.
The June MORI Political Monitor, published today, finds little movement in voting intentions. Labour, contrary to the assumption that the Black Rod spin row must have damaged Mr Blair, is fractionally up since last month, though none of the figures have moved to a statistically significant degree — there is no more change than must be expected from sampling variation.
A series of recent surveys by MORI and other agencies have thrown considerable light on the current state of race relations in Britain and the hopes and fears of the minority ethnic communities.
