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London Mayor Ratings

Wednesday 09 July 2003

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.

The congestion charge is a polarising issue among Londoners and is cited as the top reason for both satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the Mayor. Half of Londoners (50%) support the introduction of the charge and two in five (44%) oppose it. Although support and opposition remains unchanged since March, the latest figures show that there has been an increase in the number of people who think it has been effective at reducing traffic congestion in Central London — from 67% to 73%.

Technical details

Results are based on 1,000 interviews conducted by telephone with a representative sample of residents in the Greater London area.
Interviews were conducted between 17-24 June 2003.
Data are weighted by gender, age, work status and ethnicity to the known profile of Greater London.
Wave 1 figures refer to the first Opinion telephone survey conducted by telephone between 7-15 March 2003. Data for Wave 1 figures are weighted by gender, age, work status and ethnicity to the known profile of Greater London.
Where results do not sum to 100%, this may be due to multiple responses, computer rounding or the exclusion of 'don't know/not stated' response categories

Topline Results

The Mayor Of London

Q1 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Ken Livingstone is doing his job as Mayor of London? Is that very/fairly satisfied/dissatisfied?

	17-24 June	7-15 March
	%	%
Very satisfied	11	8
Fairly satisfied	38	38
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	15	19
Fairly dissatisfied	14	16
Very dissatisfied	17	14
Don't know / No opinion	5	5

Q2 You said that you are satisfied with the way Ken Livingstone is doing his job as Mayor of London. Why do you say that?

Base: All satisfied with the way Ken Livingstone is doing his job as Mayor (484)

	%
Congestion Charging / trying to reduce congestion	47
Doing a good job for London	25
Addressing transport issues / trying to improve transport	24
Trying to do his best despite limitations / constraints	18
Improving London / creating better future	10
Approve of his policies	8
Like him/his personality / attitude	8
Cares for the people/one of us / trying to help public	8
Improvements to the bus service	6
Dealing with crime	1
Other	4
Don't know	4

Q3 You said that you are dissatisfied with the way Ken Livingstone is doing his job as Mayor of London. Why do you say that?

Base: All dissatisfied with the way Ken Livingstone is doing his job as Mayor (313)

	%
Congestion Charging	48
Not working for London / listening to people's needs	21
Not fulfilling promises / no improvements	17
Money wasted / too much expenditure	15
Dislike him / his attitude/his style	15
No improvements to transport	13
Roads congested / no improvements to roads	11
Creating more problems / doesn't know what he is doing/policies not thought through	10
No improvement to the tube / underground	7
A lot of talk but not much action	5
Transport is expensive / fares have increased 2
Council tax has increased	2
Too left-wing / communist	1
He got rid of the pigeons at Trafalgar Square	1
Other	5
Don't know	2

Q4 How well informed do you think the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority keeps you about the services it has responsibility for. Would you say it …?

	17-24 June	7-15 March
	%	%
Keeps you very well informed	9	8
Keeps you fairly well informed	33	32
Gives you only a limited amount of information	36	35
Doesn't tell you much at all about what it does	18	21
Don't know	5	4

Congestion Charging

Q5 How strongly do you support or oppose congestion charging in Central London? Do you …?

	17-24 June	7-15 March
	%	%
Strongly support	26	28
Tend to support	24	22
Neither support or oppose	13	12
Tend to oppose	11	10
Strongly oppose	23	24
Don't know	3	4

Q6 From what you know or have heard of the scheme, how effective do you believe the congestion charge scheme has been in reducing traffic congestion in Central London? Would you say it has been …?

	17-24 June	7-15 March
	%	%
Very effective	24	20
Fairly effective	49	47
Not very effective	10	13
Not at all effective	7	7
Don't know	10	13

Nelson Mandela Statue

Q7 It has been proposed that a statue of Nelson Mandela be placed in Trafalgar Square. How strongly do you support or oppose this proposal? Is that strongly or tend to?