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The Blair Government And Petrol Prices

Sunday 24 September 2000

MORI Telephone Surveys interviewed 1,011 British adults aged 18+
Interviews were conducted by telephone on 21-22 September 2000
Results are based on all respondents unless stated
Data are weighted to the known population profile
An '*' indicates a finding of less than 0.5%, but greater than zero
Poll conducted by MORI on behalf of The Mail on Sunday

QV1 How would you vote if there were a General Election tomorrow?
(If undecided or refused at Q1)

QV2 Which party are you most inclined to support?
Base: 1,011

	%
Conservative	39
Labour	35
Liberal Democrats	21
Scottish/Welsh Nationalist	3
Green Party	1
Democratic/UKIP/Referendum Party	0
Other	1

Would not vote	13
Undecided	10
Refused	2

Q1 How well do you think the government is handling the economy at the moment?

	%
Very well	6
Fairly well	38
Fairly badly	31
Very badly	22
Don't know	3

Q2 Which party, if any, do you think has the best policies on fuel prices - the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats or some other party?

	%
Conservative	26
Labour	14
Liberal Democrats	15
Green Party	1
Other	5
None	16
Don't know	23

Q3 And how do you feel the Government handled the issue of petrol prices and fuel shortages over the last couple of weeks? Did it do…?

	%
Very well	3
Fairly well	15
Fairly badly	25
Very badly	56
Don't know	2

Q4 And which minister do you think was to blame for the government handling the issue of petrol prices and fuel shortages badly?
Base = All those who think the Government has handled the issue badly (817)

	%
Tony Blair	46
Gordon Brown	31
John Prescott	20
Jack Straw	*
All politicians are to blame	1
Other	*
None	3
Don't know	15

Q5 The Conservatives have announced this week that if they win the next election they will reduce the tax on petrol by 3p a litre. Do you think they are right or wrong to make such a promise?

	%
Right	34
Wrong	59
Don't know	7

Q6-8 Do you think that the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, is or is not in touch with what ordinary people think?
And do you think that the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, is or is not in touch with what ordinary people think?
And do you think that the Conservative Leader, William Hague, is or is not in touch with what ordinary people think?

	Tony Blair	Gordon Brown	William Hague
	%	%	%
Is in touch	23	20	32
Not in touch	72	71	59
Don't know	4	9	10

Q9 In general, would you describe the Labour Government as united or divided?
Q10 And would you describe the Conservative Party as united or divided?

	Labour Government	Conservative Party
	%	%
United	38	36
Divided	49	45
Neither	6	8
Don't know	7	12

Q11 On balance, do you think that Tony Blair's government is more trustworthy or less trustworthy than the last Conservative government under John Major, or do you think that there is no difference?

	%
Blair more trustworthy	27
Blair less trustworthy	26
No difference	44
Don't know	2

Q12 Before the General Election, the head of Formula One motor racing, Bernie Ecclestone, gave a £1 million donation to the labour Party. As you may have seen in the news, a book published this week alleges that Gordon Brown lied in a radio interview after the election, suggesting that he did not know about Mr Ecclestone's donation when in fact he did know about it. Mr Brown denies that he lied. Do you think that Gordon Brown did or did not lie in the radio interview?

	%
Lied	59
Did not lie	16
Don't know	25

Q13 The Conservatives have demanded Mr Brown's resignation as a result of these allegations. Do you think that Mr Brown should or should not resign?

	%
Should resign	39
Should not resign	51
Don't know	10

Q14 At the time of the controversy over Mr Ecclestone's donation, Tony Blair described himself as "a pretty straight sort of guy". Would you agree or disagree that Tony Blair is a "pretty straight sort of guy"?