ITV News Election Issues

COMRES / ITV NEWS POLL: NHS SHOULD BE BIGGEST GOVERNMENT PRIORITY AT PRESENT TIME & LABOUR TRUSTED MOST TO MANAGE THE NHS

A brand new poll conducted by ComRes for ITV News reveals that managing the NHS should be the biggest priority for the government at the present time (53%). This is followed by controlling immigration (45%) and growing the economy for everyone in Britain (40%).
There’s a difference of opinion in age groups on the issue of controlling immigration – it’s selected as a top priority for the Government by three in five (60%) of those aged 55–64, compared to only a quarter (26%) of 18–24 year olds.
A quarter (26%) of the British public say that making the welfare system fairer should be one of the three biggest priorities, while a fifth say the same for providing adequate care for the elderly (21%), improving housing affordability (21%) or redefining Britain’s relationship with the EU (20%). Just one in ten Britons think that reducing crime and anti-social behaviour or improving the education system should be one of the biggest priorities for the Government (both 11%).

On trust, Brits trust the Labour Party the most to manage the NHS (36%) and improve housing affordability (36%), while the Conservative Party are the most trusted to reduce the Government’s budget deficit (44%) and promote UK economic growth (39%).
Both Labour and Conservative have seen improvements to their scores for keeping down the cost of everyday items – largely at the expense of UKIP and fewer people saying ‘don’t know’. Labour is now most trusted on it by 32%, compared to 24% who most trust the Conservatives. This leaves Labour with a lead of eight points – broadly unchanged from their lead this time six months ago (nine points).
Full data tables can be found here and here.

Date Published: 23rd March 2015

Client: ITV News

Methodology

METHODOLOGY: ComRes interviewed 2,011 British adults online between 13th and 15th March 2015 and then 2,020 British adults online between 18th and 19th March 2015. Data were weighted to be representative of all GB adults aged 18+. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.