Politics

Ipsos's poll on the London Mayoral election, carried out 1-7 April 2008 for the trade union UNISON, shows the first preference results are 41% for Ken Livingstone, 40% for Boris Johnson, 14% for Brian Paddick, and 5% for Sian Berry among those saying they are "certain to vote" (48%).

Ipsos's Economic Optimism Index, which measures public optimism about the future of the economy, is currently the lowest it has been since March 1980.

Trust in the BBC has widely been called into question in recent months, with scandals over a Blue Peter phone-in vote and the documentary about the Queen. Despite this, the UK public are most likely to trust the BBC out of a range of British institutions, much more than they trust the government — which is just as well, since TV and radio broadcasters are seen by far more as being influential than are the government.

Despite 2007's political turbulence, public engagement in politics continues to decline

Q How much if anything do you feel you know about the European Union?

Q How much if anything do you feel you know about the British constitution?

Alistair Darling delivers his first Budget as Chancellor this week having faced a number of difficulties since entering 11 Downing Street last summer, such as an economic slowdown and criticism of his handling of Northern Rock.

Q On balance, do you agree or disagree with the following statement? "I have influence over how public services are delivered"

Q How confident, if at all, are you that the government will "do the right thing about pensions" in the next few years?