Independent / Sunday Mirror Political Poll April 2017

Polling on behalf of the Independent and the Sunday Mirror on Syria and the Labour Party with Voting Intention figures for the Independent and Sunday Mirror.

Voting intention

• The Conservative Party have gained four points since March and are now polling at 46%, 21 points ahead of Labour, who are on 25%.
• Three in ten (31%) 2015 General Election UKIP voters say they would now vote for the Conservative Party.

 

Foreign policy

• Public opinion is split on whether President Trump’s decision to launch airstrikes following the chemical weapons attack in Syria was right or not (38% agree v 35% disagree).
• British adults are more likely to say that the British Government should not take military action against President Assad in Syria (42% disagree v 25% agree), however a third (33%) are unsure.

 

British Politics

• Half of British adults (49%) agree that overseas students in Britain should be counted as part of overall Government immigration figures, compared to three in ten (30%) who disagree.
• Two in five British adults (41%) agree that there is a need for a new centre-ground political party in Britain. The majority of Liberal Democrat voters (58%) agree that there is a need for a new centre-ground political party in Britain, as do more than two in five Labour voters (43%), half of UKIP voters (47%) and over one third of Conservatives (35%).

 

The Labour Party

• There is majority support for several Labour Party policies among British adults, notably the raising of the minimum wage and of the top rate of tax (71% and 62% agree respectively).

 

1. Do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?

Statement	Agree	Disagree	Don’t know
Overseas students in Britain should be counted as part of overall Government immigration figures	49%	30%	21%
North Korea is a bigger threat to world peace than the current crisis in Syria	46%	22%	32%
The Government has the best interests of Britain at heart in its foreign policy	43%	30%	27%
There is a need for a new centre-ground political party in Britain	41%	26%	33%
President Trump was right to launch airstrikes following the chemical weapons attack in Syria	38%	35%	26%
Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, is a hindrance to the Government’s foreign policy objectives	37%	32%	31%
The situation in Syria would be better now if Britain and other Western allies had used military force in 2013	31%	27%	42%
The Government should take military action against President Assad in Syria	25%	42%	33%

Base: All respondents (n=2,029)

 

• Half of Conservative (50%) and UKIP (48%) voters agree that President Trump was right to launch airstrikes following the chemical weapons attack in Syria, compared to three in ten Labour voters (30%).
• Older adults (aged 65+) are twice as likely as 18-24 year olds and 25-34 year olds to agree that North Korea is a bigger threat to world peace than the current crisis in Syria (63% vs 30% and 28% respectively).
• 18-24 year olds are least likely to agree that overseas students in Britain should be counted as part of overall Government immigration figures (34%, compared to more than half of those aged 65+ (56%).

 

1. To what extent, if at all, do you agree or disagree with each of the following Labour Party / Jeremy Corbyn policies?

Statement	LABOUR PARTY			JEREMY CORBYN
	Agree	Disagree	Don’t know	Agree	Disagree	Don’t know
To raise the minimum wage to £10 an hour by 2020 (from £7.50 now)	71%	18%	11%	68%	21%	11%
To raise the top rate of income tax from 45p on the pound to 50p on incomes over £150,000 a year	62%	22%	16%	65%	22%	13%
Free school meals for all children, paid for by introducing VAT on private school fees	53%	35%	12%	52%	36%	13%
Set up a £500bn national investment bank using £350bn of Government money	26%	28%	46%	26%	33%	42%

Base: All respondents (n=2,029) ComRes adopted a split sample approach to this question, with half of respondents seeing the policies attributed to the ‘Labour Party’ and half to ‘Jeremy Corbyn’. 

 

• Association with Jeremy Corbyn appears to have little impact on the public’s perceptions of the Labour Party’s current policy agenda:
  • For example, 71% of adults agree with the minimum wage policy attributed to Labour, compared to 68% who agree with the policy attributed to Jeremy Corbyn.
• Raising the minimum wage to £10 an hour by 2020 has cross-party support, with majorities of voters of each of the main parties agreeing with the policy.
  • More than four in five of Labour voters (88%) and seven in ten UKIP voters (71%) agree. A majority of Conservative also support the policy (51%).
• The majority of Conservative voters (57%) disagree with introducing free school meals for all children by introducing VAT on private school fees. The majority of adults who say they will vote for the other main parties – including UKIP (51%) – agree with this policy.
• More than two in five British adults (44%) say they don’t know whether they agree or disagree with setting up a £500bn national investment bank using £350bn of Government money, compared to 13% or less for the other policies tested. This suggests a lack of knowledge or clarity surrounding the policy among a significant minority of Britons.
• The Labour Party policies tested are popular amongst those who are not sure who they will vote for if there was a General Election tomorrow. For example seven in ten of unsure voters (71%) agree with the increase in the minimum wage by 2020 (as do 69% of British adults overall).

 

Voting intention

The Conservatives enjoy a 21 point lead over Labour.

One in six General Election 2015 Lib Dem voters (15%) say they would now vote for the Conservative Party.

Con       46% (+4)

Lab       25% (NC)

LD        11% (-1)

UKIP        9% (-1)

SNP          4% (-1)

Green    4% (NC)

Other     2% (NC)

Date Published: 15/04/2017

Categories: Elections | GB | Politics | Public and communities | Public Sector | Voting Intention

Client: Independent & Sunday Mirror

Methodology

ComRes interviewed 2,029 GB adults online between 11^th and 13^th April 2017. Data were weighted to be demographically representative of all GB adults. Data were also weighted by past vote recall. Voting intention figures are calculated using the ComRes Voter Turnout Model.

1. Independent-Sunday-Mirror-Political-Poll-April-2017-Data-Tables 0.02 MB.