Sunday 10 December 2000
Pre-Budget Statement Poll - Final Weighted Results
- MORI interviewed 1,004 Saga Magazine readers by telephone (600 subscribers, 404 non-subscribers)
- Interviews were conducted by telephone on 3-7 November 2000
- Results are based on all respondents unless otherwise stated
- Data are weighted to known readership profile.
- An '*' indicates a finding of less than 0.5%, but greater than zero
- Poll conducted by MORI on behalf of Saga Magazine
Q1 How would you vote if there were a General Election tomorrow?
(If undecided or refused at Q1)
Q2 Which party are you most inclined to support?
| | % |
|---|
| Conservative | 57 |
| Labour | 24 |
| Liberal Democrats | 16 |
| Scottish/Welsh Nationalist | 1 |
| Green Party | 1 |
| Democratic/UKIP/Referendum Party | * |
| Other | 2 |
| |
| Would not vote | 5 |
| Undecided | 9 |
| Refused | 7 |
Q3 How likely are you to get along to vote at the next General Election … ?
| | % |
|---|
| Certain to vote | 69 |
| Very likely to vote | 18 |
| Quite likely to vote | 7 |
| Not very likely to vote | 2 |
| Certain not to vote | 3 |
| Don't know | 1 |
Q4 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way the Government is running the country?
Q5 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Mr Blair is doing his job as Prime Minister?
Q6 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Mr Hague is doing his job as leader of the Conservative Party?
Q7 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Mr Kennedy is doing his job as leader of the Liberal Democrats?
| | Satisfied | Dissatisfied | Don't know | Index |
|---|
| | % | % | % | ± |
|---|
| Government | 25 | 67 | 8 | -42 |
| Blair | 31 | 62 | 6 | -31 |
| Hague | 35 | 50 | 15 | -15 |
| Kennedy | 42 | 21 | 38 | 21 |
Q8 What would you say is the most important issue facing Britain today?
Q9 What do you see as other important issues facing Britain today?
| | Q7 | Q7/Q8 |
|---|
| | % | % |
|---|
| National Health Service/Hospitals | 15 | 37 |
| Common Market/EU/Europe/Single European Currency | 17 | 30 |
| Pensions/welfare security | 8 | 30 |
| Education/schools | 5 | 25 |
| Petrol prices/fuel | 9 | 23 |
| Economy/economic situation | 7 | 14 |
| Crime/law & order/violence/vandalism | 5 | 14 |
| Floods | 5 | 13 |
| Transport/public transport | 3 | 13 |
| Taxation | 3 | 9 |
| Pollution/environment | 3 | 8 |
| Race relations/immigration/immigrants | 2 | 5 |
| Beef/BSE/Mad Cow Disease | 1 | 4 |
| Countryside/rural life | 1 | 4 |
| Defence/Foreign affairs | 1 | 4 |
| Drug abuse | 1 | 4 |
| Local government/council tax | 1 | 4 |
| Unemployment/factory closure/lack of industry | 1 | 4 |
| Morality/individual behaviour | 1 | 3 |
| Housing | * | 3 |
| Poverty/inequality | 1 | 2 |
| Inflation/prices | * | 2 |
| Low pay/minimum wage/fair wages | * | 2 |
| Northern Ireland | * | 2 |
| AIDS | 0 | 1 |
| GM/Genetically modified foods | 0 | 1 |
| Privatisation | 0 | 1 |
| Animal Welfare | * | 1 |
| Pound/exchange rate/value of pound | * | 1 |
| Scottish/Welsh Assembly/Devolution/Constitutional reform | * | 1 |
| Nuclear weapons/nuclear war/disarmament | 0 | * |
| Trade Unions/strikes | 0 | * |
| |
| Other | 2 | 3 |
| Don't know | 5 | 10 |
Q10 Do you think that the general economic condition of the country will improve, stay the same, or get worse over the next 12 months?
| | % |
|---|
| Improve | 25 |
| Stay the same | 39 |
| Get worse | 26 |
| Don't know | 9 |
Q11 Who do you think would make the most capable Prime Minister, Mr Blair, Mr Hague or Mr Kennedy?
| | % |
|---|
| Blair | 31 |
| Hague | 31 |
| Kennedy | 10 |
| None of these | 15 |
| Don't know | 12 |
Q12 Looking ahead to the General Election, which, if any, of the following issues that I read out do you think will be very important to you in helping you to decide which party to vote for?
| | % |
|---|
| Health care | 74 |
| Pensions | 64 |
| Law and order | 62 |
| The Economy | 52 |
| Education | 48 |
| Transport | 45 |
| Other | 3 |
| Don't know | 1 |
Q13 I am going to read out the same list again, and for each issue I would like you to tell me which party you think has the best policy?
| | Con | Lab | Lib Dem | Other | None | Don't know |
|---|
| | % | % | % | % | % | % |
|---|
| Health care | 30 | 32 | 7 | * | 11 | 20 |
| Education | 32 | 31 | 11 | * | 6 | 20 |
| Law and order | 41 | 21 | 6 | * | 11 | 21 |
| Pensions | 33 | 27 | 8 | * | 12 | 21 |
| The Economy | 38 | 30 | 5 | * | 6 | 20 |
| Transport | 27 | 20 | 8 | * | 18 | 27 |
Q14 A new political party called the Grey Party has been launched that focuses solely on issues that affect people aged over 50.
How likely or unlikely would you be to support a party that focuses solely on issues affecting people aged over 50?
| | % |
|---|
| Certain to | 4 |
| Very likely | 8 |
| Fairly likely | 17 |
| Fairly unlikely | 14 |
| Very unlikely | 26 |
| Certain not | 25 |
| Don't know | 7 |
Budget Questions
QB1 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Gordon Brown is doing his job as Chancellor of the Exchequer?
| | % |
|---|
| Satisfied | 43 |
| Dissatisfied | 52 |
| Don't know | 6 |
QB2 On balance, do you agree or disagree with the statement that "in the long term, this Government's policies will improve the state of Britain's economy"?
| | % |
|---|
| Agree | 40 |
| Disagree | 51 |
| Don't know | 9 |
QB3 Since it was elected in May 1997, do you think that the Government has done a good job or a bad job at …
| … managing the economy? | % |
|---|
| Good job | 57 |
| Bad job | 33 |
| Don't know | 11 |
| |
| … handling taxation and public expenditure? | % |
|---|
| Good job | 33 |
| Bad job | 58 |
| Don't know | 9 |
| |
| … keeping unemployment down? | % |
|---|
| Good job | 75 |
| Bad job | 15 |
| Don't know | 10 |
Q15 Which party did you vote for at the last General Election in May 1997?
If you are not sure, or did not vote, please say so?
| | % |
|---|
| Conservative | 42 |
| Labour | 25 |
| Liberal Democrat | 16 |
| Scottish/Welsh Nationalist | 1 |
| Referendum Party | 1 |
| Green | * |
| Other | 2 |
| |
| Did not vote | 7 |
| Can't remember | 3 |
| Refused | 3 |
Q16 Which party did you vote for at the previous General Election in April 1992?
If you are not sure, or did not vote, please say so?
| | % |
|---|
| Conservative | 53 |
| Labour | 16 |
| Liberal Democrat | 16 |
| Scottish/Welsh Nationalist | 1 |
| Green | 0 |
| Other | 1 |
| |
| Did not vote | 3 |
| Can't remember | 7 |
| Refused | 3 |
Q17 If the Conservatives were to lose the next general election, who do you think should lead the Conservative Party after the election … ?
| | % |
|---|
| William Hague | 25 |
| Anne Widdecombe | 14 |
| Michael Portillo | 22 |
| Someone else / Other |
| … Kenneth Clarke | 2 |
| … John Redwood | 1 |
| … Other | 4 |
| Don't know/None | 32 |