Sunday Mirror/Independent on Sunday Political Poll

A political poll on behalf of the Sunday Mirror and the Independent on Sunday.

Date Published: 20 Apr 2012

Categories: Economy | Politics | Public and communities | UK

Description

Q: Do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?

David Cameron is turning out to be a good Prime Minister
Agree: 29%
Disagree: 50%
Don’t know: 21%

• Of the three main party leaders, more people agree that Cameron is turning out to be good in his role than the other main party leaders. This is the case both among British people as well as among their respective Party voters. 75% of Conservative voters think that  David Cameron is turning out to be good in his role, compared to 41% of Labour voters who say the same about Ed Miliband and 56% of Lib Dem voters of Nick Clegg.

Ed Miliband is turning out to be a good leader of the Labour Party
Agree: 18%
Disagree: 49%
Don’t know: 33%

• Miliband receives the lowest score of all the main party leaders. Just 41% of Labour voters think that Ed Miliband is turning out good as leader of the Labour Party.

Nick Clegg is turning out to be a good leader of the Liberal Democrats
Agree: 22%
Disagree: 52%
Don’t know: 26%

• Just more than 1 in 5 (22%) say that Nick Clegg is turning out to be a good leader.
• 56% of current Lib Dem voters say that they think he is turning out to be a good leader. However, his score falls to just 30% among Lib Dem voters from the 2010 general election.

I trust David Cameron and George Osborne to make the right decisions about the economy
 Now March 2012 (IoS/Mirror)
Agree:                          25% 29%
Disagree:                      54% 49%
Don’t know:                  21% 22%

• While still more people say they trust David Cameron and George Osborne (25%) than say that they trust Ed Miliband and Ed Balls (19%), there has been an increase in the proportion who say they do not trust Cameron and Osborne to make the right decisions on the economy, from 49% in March to 54% now. This may be as a result of the Budget.
• Older people are more likely to have trust in Cameron and Osborne. 30% of those aged 65 and over agree, compared to just 20% of 18-24 year olds. However, still half (50%) of those aged 65 and over disagree.

I trust Ed Miliband and Ed Balls to make the right decisions about the economy
 Now March 2012(IoS/Mirror)
Agree:                          19% 15%
Disagree:                      52% 59%
Don’t know:                  30% 26%

•  Fewer than half of all Labour voters (47%) agree, compared to 10% of Lib Dem voters and 5% of Conservative voters.

The current coalition government is more competent than the last Labour government
Agree: 35%
Disagree: 45%
Don’t know: 20%

• 82% of Conservative voters and 48% of Lib Dem agree, compared to just 9% of Labour voters.
• Older people are more likely to agree in the competence of this current government compared to the last Labour government. Nearly half (46%) aged 65 and over agree, compared to nearly a quarter (22%) of 18 to 24 year olds.

The last Labour government was more competent than the current coalition government
Agree: 30%
Disagree: 48%
Don’t know: 22%

•  66% of Labour voters agree that the last Labour Government was the more competent than the current coalition government, while 17% disagree.
• Only 5% of Conservative voters and 17% of Lib Dem voters agree.

No individual, company or trade union should be allowed to give a political party more than £5,000 a year
Agree: 56%
Disagree: 19%
Don’t know: 25%

• This has consistent agreement across voters from the three main parties - 59% of Conservative voters, 55% of Labour voters, and 59% of Lib Dem voters agree.

Q: Do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?

City mayors create an unnecessary and expensive layer of local government
Agree: 56%
Disagree: 18%
Don’t know: 26%
                                               
• Lowest agreement for this was found in London, just 34% of those in London agree compared to 56% of those in Wales and the South West, 59% in the Midlands, 62% in the North England and 65% in Scotland.
• There are high levels of agreement with this statement across the three main parties. 62% of Labour voters, 55% of Conservative voters and 55% of Lib Dem voters agree.

The decisions in the Budget last month were generally fair
Agree: 27%
Disagree: 54%
Don’t know: 19%

• Conservative voters are the most likely to agree (63%) that it was fair, while just 29% of Lib Dem voters agree. Only 12% of Labour voters agree.
• Looking at the social class of respondents, the results show 33% of those from social grade AB agree compared to 20% in social grade DE.

A Labour government under Ed Miliband would be better at protecting people’s jobs
 Now Jan 2011 (IoS/ Mirror)
Agree:                          28% 30%
Disagree:                      40% 38%
Don’t know:                  32% 32%

• Men (31%) are slightly more likely than women (25%) to agree.
• 64% of Labour voters are in agreement, while a quarter (25%) of Lib Dem voters, and just 7% of Conservative voters agree.

I believe that George Osborne, the Chancellor, is “on my side” in dealing with the country’s economic problems
 Now March 2011 (IoS/Mirror)
Agree:                          20% 23%
Disagree:                      54% 50%
Don’t know:                  26% 27%

• 25% of those aged 65+ agree compared to 16% of those age 18 to 24.
• While 25% from social grade AB agree that George Osborne is on their side, just 16% from social grade DE agree.

When Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, talks about the “squeezed middle” he is talking about people like me and my family
 Now March 2011 (IoS/Mirror)
Agree:                          50% 48%
Disagree:                      25% 28%
Don’t know:                  26% 24%

• Half (50%) of people think that the “squeezed middle” refers to them.
• This is a similar proportion across the age groups, social grades and regions of the country.

The Government ought to try to increase happiness, or general well-being, rather than just national income and wealth
Agree: 59%
Disagree: 20%
Don’t know: 22%

• Labour voters particularly agree (70%) that the Government ought to try to increase happiness, or general well-being, rather than just national income and wealth. 57% of Lib Dem voters, and 51% of Conservative voters agree.

Capping tax relief on large donations to charity by wealthy individuals does not seem like the actions of a Government that believes in the Big Society
Agree: 50%
Disagree: 17%
Don’t know: 32%

• 60% of those aged 65 and over agree, compared to 43% of those aged 18-24, while a larger proportion of the younger generations are unsure.
• A plurality of Conservative voters (41%), and a majority of both Lib Dem voters (56%) and Labour voters (60%) agree.

Capping tax relief on large donations to charity by wealthy individuals means that ordinary taxpayers end up subsidising charities chosen by rich people
Agree: 43%
Disagree: 21%
Don’t know: 36%

Methodology note:

ComRes interviewed 2048 GB adults online between 18th and 19th April 2012.  Data were weighted to be demographically representative of all GB adults and by past vote recall.  ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.