A survey of the British public on behalf of ITV.
Date Published: 24 Sep 2012
Categories: Economy | Politics | Public and communities | UK
Description
COMRES/ ITV NEWS POLL: TRUST IN CLEGG AND LIB DEMS PLUMMETS FOLLOWING BROKEN PLEDGE
The latest Index poll conducted by ComRes and to be broadcast on ITV News at Ten reveals that Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is the least trusted politician to see the country through the current economic situation with 65% of the population who do not trust him and the worst net trust score of -49%. Furthermore, opinions towards the Lib Dems have plummeted following Clegg’s apology for breaking their pledge not to raise tuition fees.
By comparison, in October 2010, 34% said that they trusted Nick Clegg to see the country through the current economic situation, while 39% said that they did not trust him, giving a net trust score of just -5%.
Full results: Do you, or would you, trust each of the following politicians to see the country through the current economic situation?
Yes No Don’t know NET TRUST (Yes minus No)
David Cameron 34% 50% 16% -16
Ed Miliband 20% 56% 23% -36
George Osborne 19% 58% 23% -39
Ed Balls 16% 59% 25% -43
Nick Clegg 16% 65% 19% -49
Three quarters (76%) agree that Nick Clegg was right to apologise for breaking the pledge not to raise tuition fees while just one in ten (11%) disagree.
Two thirds (66%) believe that Clegg made this apology for political reasons, rather than being sincerely sorry. One in five (19%) disagree.
Clegg’s apology is widely acknowledged by the public with a minority of one in five (19%) who admit they had not heard about it. However among 18-24 year olds - the most likely to be affected by tuition fees – nearly half (45%) say that they were not aware of his apology.
62% disagree that they have a better opinion of Clegg because of his apology and subsequently, more than half (55%) agree that they have a worse opinion of the Liberal Democrat Party as a result of them breaking their pledge not to raise tuition fees.
Ends.
Methodology: ComRes interviewed 2,035 adults online from 21st to 23rd September 2012. Data were weighted to be demographically representative of all British adults aged 18+. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.