Voting Intentions of Asians
MORI interviewed adults 1,003 aged 18+ among the Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities on behalf of Zee TV, the Asian satellite and cable TV channel across Great Britain. Fieldwork was conducted by telephone on 31 January - 9 February 1997.
Q1 How would you vote if there was a General Election tomorrow? (If undecided or refused at Q1) Q2 Which party are you most inclined to support?
| Zee TV/Asian | Gen Public | |
| % | % | |
| Conservative | 25 | 30 |
| Labour | 70 | 55 |
| Liberal Democrats (Lib Dem) | 4 | 11 |
| Scottish/Welsh Nationalist | * | 2 |
| Green Party | 1 | 1 |
| Referendum Party | 0 | 1 |
| Other | * | 1 |
| Would not vote | 5 | 9 |
| Undecided | 13 | 6 |
| Refused | 4 | 2 |
Q3 Can you tell me how likely you are to get along to vote in the General Election?
| Zee TV/Asian | Gen Public | |
| % | % | |
| Certain not to vote | 10 | 8 |
| Not very likely to vote | 7 | 7 |
| Quite likely to vote | 11 | 11 |
| Very likely to vote | 13 | 15 |
| Certain to vote | 58 | 57 |
| Don't know | 1 | 2 |
Q4 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way the Government is running e country?
Q5 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Mr Major is doing his job as Prime Minister?
Q6 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Mr Blair is doing his job as leader of the Labour Party?
| Satisfied | Dissatisfied | Don't know | |
| % | % | % | |
| Government | |||
| Asians | 29 | 58 | 13 |
| General Public | 21 | 71 | 8 |
| Major | |||
| Asians | 35 | 52 | 13 |
| General Public | 31 | 61 | 8 |
| Blair | |||
| Asians | 60 | 17 | 23 |
| General Public | 50 | 32 | 18 |
Q7 Do you think that the general economic condition of the country will improve, stay the same, or get worse over the next 12 months?
| Zee TV/Asian | Gen Public | |
| % | % | |
| Improve | 32 | 25 |
| Stay the same | 30 | 39 |
| Get worse | 24 | 25 |
| Don't know | 14 | 10 |
Q8 Some people say that their political views are the same as their parents, other people have different political views. Generally speaking, would you say your political views are more Conservative or more Labour than your parents, or much the same as theirs?
| % | |
| More Conservative | 19 |
| More Labour | 23 |
| Same | 42 |
| Other | 4 |
| Don't know | 13 |
Q9 Which party do you trust most to look after the interests of Asian people in this country?
| All | All naming any party | |
| Base: | (1,003) | (689) |
| % | % | |
| Conservative | 15 | 22 |
| Labour | 51 | 74 |
| Liberal Democrats (Lib Dem) | 2 | 3 |
| Scottish/Welsh Nationalist | * | * |
| Green Party | * | * |
| Referendum Party | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 1 | 1 |
| None of them | 21 | |
| Don't know | 14 |
Q10 And which party do you trust least to look after the interests of Asian people in this country?
| All | All naming any party | |
| Base: | (1,003) | (689) |
| % | % | |
| (1,003) | (587) | |
| Conservative | 32 | 55 |
| Labour | 9 | 15 |
| Liberal Democrats (Lib Dem) | 9 | 15 |
| Scottish/Welsh Nationalist | * | * |
| Green Party | * | 1 |
| Referendum Party | 1 | 1 |
| Other | 8 | 13 |
| None of them | 21 | |
| Don't know | 23 |
Please tell me how strongly you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?
Q11 Asian people should do more to get involved in British politics Black people should do more to get involved in British politics
| Asian | Black | |
| % | % | |
| Strongly agree | 67 | 46 |
| Tend to agree | 21 | 36 |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 3 | 10 |
| Tend to disagree | 4 | 3 |
| Strongly disagree | 1 | 1 |
| Don't know/no opinion | 4 | 4 |
Please tell me how strongly you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?
Q12 The main political parties are not doing enough to attract Asian voters The main political parties are not doing enough to attract Black voters
| Asian | Black | |
| % | % | |
| Strongly agree | 40 | 32 |
| Tend to agree | 23 | 32 |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 8 | 15 |
| Tend to disagree | 18 | 9 |
| Strongly disagree | 5 | 3 |
| Don't know/no opinion | 6 | 9 |
Q13 Looking to the future, do you think an Asian MP will ever be appointed as a Cabinet minister in the British government, or not?
| % | |
| Yes | 59 |
| No | 33 |
| Don't know | 8 |
Q14 And do you think Britain will ever have an Asian Prime Minister, or not?
| % | |
| Yes | 12 |
| No | 81 |
| Don't know | 7 |
Q15 If an Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi candidate was standing in your constituency for a party you do not usually support, how likely or unlikely would you be to change your vote in favour of the candidate?
| % | |
| Certain to change vote | 9 |
| Very likely to change vote | 7 |
| Quite likely to change vote | 11 |
| Not very likely to change vote | 27 |
| Certain not to change vote | 37 |
| Don't know | 9 |
Q16 Thinking now about immigration to this country, do you think existing laws on immigration are too strict, not strict enough, or just about right?
| % | |
| Too strict | 31 |
| Not strict enough | 18 |
| About right | 43 |
| Don't know | 8 |
Q17 Which party did you vote for at the last General Election, in April 1992? If you are not sure, or did not vote, please say so.
| All | All naming any party | |
| Base: | (1,003) | (724) |
| % | % | |
| Conservative | 23 | 31 |
| Labour | 46 | 64 |
| Liberal Democrats (Lib Dem) | 3 | 4 |
| Scottish/Welsh Nationalist | 0 | 0 |
| Green Party | * | 1 |
| Other | * | 0 |
| Did not vote | 16 | |
| Too young | 5 | |
| Can't remember | 3 | |
| Refused | 4 |
Technical details
Conducted on behalf of Zee TV, the Asian satellite and cable TV channel Data on general public from a nationwide survey conducted on behalf of the Times among 1,707 adults aged 18+ between 24-28 January 1997 Data on Black population from a nationwide survey conducted on behalf of the BBC among 804 Black adults aged 18+ between 21-24 June 1996 Base: 1,003 telephone interviews nationwide with Asian adults aged 18+ Fieldwork: 31 January - 9 February 1997 Data are weighted by sex and age within ethnic group to match the known profile of the Asian population All figures are percentages
