MORI's latest monthly Political Monitor survey, conducted between 11 and 15 August 2005, shows that the proportion of the public satisfied with the way Tony Blair is doing his job has slipped to 39%, down from 44% recorded in MORI's July Political Monitor which was conducted in the aftermath of the London bombings. Terrorism/defence/foreign affairs continue to be seen as the key national priority, with over half the public spontaneously citing these as the most important issues facing the country.
Satisfaction with the way Tony Blair is doing his job as Prime Minister rose to the highest levels for two and half years following the London bombings on 7th July. MORI's monthly Political Monitor for the Financial Times, conducted between 14 and 18 July, shows that 44% of the public are satisfied with Mr Blair, up from 39% in June (and up from 33% at the start of the year). The proportion of the public dissatisfied with the Prime Minister is at 47% this month, down from 52% in June (and 57% in January 2005).
Net satisfaction with the way Tony Blair is doing his job as Prime Minister is at the highest since April 2003. His net satisfaction rating among the public is at -13% (39% satisfied, 53% dissatisfied). Among Labour supporters, net satisfaction is higher than it has been in the last 3 years, in July 2002 (50%). Net satisfaction with Mr Howard as leader of the Conservative Party has followed the opposite pattern: satisfaction with the conservative leader amongst the public peaked as the election neared (-10 net satisfaction in March), but is now back up to -26 net satisfaction, where he was at the end of 2004. Amongst Conservative supporters, these swings are even more pronounced. From a net satisfaction rating of +33 in March this year, support for Mr Howard among Conservative voters has dropped to +2. That is, 42% of Conservative supporters are dissatisfied with Mr Howard as leader of the Conservative party (44% satisfied).
February's Political Monitor, conducted for the Financial Times, shows the highest level of voting intentions for the Conservative Party recorded by MORI for 18 months.
MORI's first election special Political Monitor, conducted exclusively for The Observer in January shows a six-point lead for the Labour Party over the Tories (38% to 32%) with the Liberal Democrats on 22% (down from 26% in December).
MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,960 adults aged 18+ at 200 sampling points across Great Britain. Fieldwork was conducted face-to-face on 15-20 January 2004. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.
Among those who say they are certain to vote at the next General Election, Labour's share of the vote has risen four points, from 36% in November to 40% in December. The Conservatives now on 31% are down four points and the Liberal Democrats remain unchanged on 22%.
