Skip to Content
Get in touch

Voting Intention and Political Attitudes Poll for The Independent

Voting intention and political attitudes poll conducted for the Independent published 27 June 2011.

Date Published: 26 Jun 2011

Categories: Economy | Politics | Public and communities | UK

Description

The British people support calls for a change in the law to ban strikes by public sector workers after a low turnout in ballots approving industrial action, according to a Savanta ComRes survey for The Independent. They also think trade unions will not win public sympathy if they stage co-ordinated strikes.

By a margin of 50% to 32%, people agree that the Government should ban public sector strikes unless there has been a turnout of at least 50 per cent in the strike ballot.  A legal minimum turnout is favoured by the London Mayor Boris Johnson and some Tory MPs and ministers.  By 55% to 26%, people believe that public sector workers will not get public sympathy if they hold co-ordinated strikes.
However, the poll also found some support for the unions’ position in their battle with the Government over reforms to public sector pensions. By 49% to 35%, people agree that the workers have a legitimate reason to strike, and people believe, by 46% to 35%, that  the Government would be wrong to change public sector pensions if most workers affected oppose them.
A big majority (78%) agree that it is unfair for low paid public employees to pay the price for mistakes made by bankers before the financial crisis, while 12% disagree.
According to Savanta ComRes, Labour enjoys a four-point lead over the Conservatives. Labour is on 40% (up 3 points since the last Savanta ComRes poll), the Tories on 36% (down 1 point), the Liberal Democrats on 11% (no change) and other parties on 13% (down 2 points).
Savanta ComRes interviewed 2,059 GB adults online between June 24-26 for their views on the proposed strikes.  It telephoned 1,003 GB adults about their voting intention. In both cases data were weighted by past vote recall. Savanta ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.

View Polls

Read More
Explore