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Sunday Mirror / Independent Political Poll September 2016

Poll on Theresa May, Labour, Jeremy Corbyn, Bake Off

Conservative Leaders:

  • Theresa May is thought much more in touch than her predecessor – 52% of people say Theresa May understands more what ordinary British people care about, compared to just 14% who think David Cameron understood more.

EU:

  • Half of the public (50%) – including the majority of Conservative (57%) and UKIP voters (81%) think that the government should start the process of leaving the EU as soon as possible. 37% think the government should take more time before starting the process.
  • Theresa May is thought a better person than Jeremy Corbyn to unite the country after the EU referendum (56% vs 19%).

 

Parties:

  • Nearly two thirds of Britons say they know what the Conservative Party stands for (65%), compared to just 45% who say they know what the Labour Party stands for.
  • Two thirds of Britons (65%) think that the Conservatives under Theresa May are more likely to win the next election, compared to just 16% who think Labour are more likely to win under Jeremy Corbyn.
  • Current Labour voters are more likely to think the Conservatives will win than think Labour will (42% vs 37%).

Labour:

  • Three quarters of the British public (74%) say that Labour is now more divided than at any other time they can remember.
  • Half (48%) disagree that Jeremy Corbyn is inspiring a new political generation, compared to a third (31%) who thinks that he is.
  • But more do think that he is taking politics outside of the Westminster bubble – 41% agree that he is, compared to 24% who disagree.
  • One in three (35%) 2015 Labour voters say they share Neil Kinnock’s concern that the party is being taken over by the hard left. 36% say they do not.
  • The public as a whole is slightly more likely to think that Owen Smith (38%) has a better chance of winning the next election than think Corbyn has (31%). However, more current Labour voters think Corbyn stands a better chance (49%, vs 28% who think Smith). People who voted Labour in 2015 are also slightly more likely to think Corbyn than Smith stands the better chance (40% vs 34%).

Heathrow:

  • 41% of Britons think the plans for a third runway at Heathrow should go ahead, compared to 28% who think they should not.

Great British Bake Off:

  • The public backs the BBC’s decision to let go of the Great British Bake Off – a quarter (23%) thinks it should have paid more money to keep it, but 58% think it was right not to pay more to keep it.

FINDINGS IN DETAIL

  1. For each of the following statements, which one comes closest to your opinion?

 

Option 1 % % Option 2 Don’t know
Labour is likely to win the next General Election with Jeremy Corbyn as leader 16% 65% The Conservatives are likely to win the next General Election with Theresa May as leader 19%
Following the EU referendum, Jeremy Corbyn is the right person to unite the country 19% 56% Following the EU referendum, Theresa May is the right person to unite the country 25%
David Cameron understood what ordinary British people cared about more 14% 52% Theresa May understands what ordinary British people care about more 34%
The plans to expand Heathrow airport should go ahead 41% 28% The plans to expand Heathrow airport should not go ahead 31%
The BBC should have paid more money to keep the Great British Bake Off 23% 58% The BBC were right not pay more money to keep the Great British Bake Off 19%
The government should start the process of leaving the EU as soon as possible 50% 37% The government should take more time before starting the process of leaving the EU 13%
Jeremy Corbyn has more chance of winning a General Election for Labour 31% 38% Owen Smith has more chance of winning a General Election for Labour 31%

Base: All GB adults (n=2,050)

  • Two thirds (68%) of Conservative voters say that Theresa May understands what ordinary British people care about more, compared to 15% who think David Cameron did.
  • 18-24 year olds are the only age group to think that the BBC should have paid more money to keep the Great British Bake Off (44% think it should have done vs 35% who think not).
  • 80% of those aged 65+ think that Theresa May is the right person to unite the country after the referendum, compared to just 7% who think Jeremy Corbyn is.
  • Half of 2015 Labour voters (50%) think that the Conservatives are more likely to win the next General Election than Labour. 29% think Labour is more likely to win.
  1. Do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?

 

  Agree Disagree Don’t know
Labour is more divided now than I can ever remember 74% 10% 17%
I share Neil Kinnock’s concern that the Labour Party is being taken over by the hard left 39% 25% 35%
Jeremy Corbyn is taking politics outside the Westminster bubble 41% 24% 34%
Jeremy Corbyn is inspiring a new political generation 31% 48% 21%
I feel I have a good understanding of what the Conservative Party stands for 65% 21% 15%
I feel I have a good understanding of what UKIP stands for 63% 21% 16%
I feel I have a good understanding of what the Labour Party stands for 45% 36% 19%
I feel I have a good understanding of what the Liberal Democrats stand for 32% 46% 22%

Base: All GB adults (n=2,050)

 

  • 90% of people aged 65+ think that Labour is more divided now than they can ever remember. Around two thirds of Labour voters also agree (64%).
  • However, every age group is more likely to agree than disagree that Jeremy Corbyn is taking politics outside of the Westminster bubble. This is also the case for Labour (58% vs 17%) and Conservative (37% vs 34%) voters.
  • 44% of 18-24 year olds agree Corbyn is inspiring a new political generation. 35% disagree.
  • A quarter (24%) of 2015 Labour voters say they do not have a good understanding of what the Labour Party stands for – although nearly two thirds do (63%).
  • 82% of 2015 Conservative voters agree they have a good understanding of what the Conservative Party is for (9% disagree).

 

Date Published: 24th September 2016

Categories: GB | Politics | Public and communities

Client: Sunday Mirror / Independent

Methodology

ComRes interviewed 2,050 GB adults online between the 21st and 22nd September 2016. Data were weighted to be demographically representative of all GB adults. Data were also weighted by past vote recall. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.

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