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.
This week, the Electoral Commission announced that it was beginning consultations on whether the minimum voting age in Britain should be reduced. By coincidence, this week also saw the release of a MORI survey for Nestlé UK (published as the Nestlé Family Monitor Number 16: Young People's Attitudes Towards Politics): this survey of school pupils aged 11-18 in England and Wales included questions both on attitudes to reducing the voting age and on how young people would vote if they were old enough. Sam Younger (the Chairman of the Electoral Commission) and Yvette Cooper MP (the minister responsible for electoral arrangements) were among the speakers at a Smith Institute Seminar at 11 Downing Street where the report was launched. The findings will, we hope, help to inform the debate.
Nearly half (49%) of Londoners say they are satisfied with Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London while three in 10 (31%) say they are dissatisfied. While the overall satisfaction rating remains broadly unchanged since March — just after the introduction of the congestion charge — those saying they are 'very satisfied' has increased by three per cent.
Some further comparisons of British attitudes half-a-century ago, around the time of the coronation, with the way we think today, this time concentrating on work and leisure. (As before, for the 1950s we are heavily reliant on surveys from Gallup, the only pollster then publishing regular public opinion surveys, the findings of which survive in book form - George H Gallup, The Gallup International Public Opinion Polls: Great Britain 1937-1975, New York: Random House, 1976, and Anthony King and Robert Wybrow, British Political Opinion 1937-2000: The Gallup Polls, London: Politico's, 2001.)
A wide-ranging MORI survey for the FT including questions on joining the Euro, trust in directors of large companies, government experts and Tony Blair
There is a continuing slide in the electorate's expectations of public services, with fewer people in June anticipating that public services will improve over the next few years, than had in previous months.
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.
Eight people in ten disagree that "Directors of large companies can be trusted to tell the truth", according to the MORI poll conducted for the Financial Times last week.
Who exercise 'consumer power'? Do you recall that at the turn of the year I wrote about Consuming Passions in my monthly column? That article warned PR practitioners to think about who wields consumer power, and gave some clues of who in our society does what to express their ire against organisations which failed to live up to expectation.
