Poll Archive
The Times Poll - June 2008
Fieldwork: June 6th 2008 - June 8th 2008
published by The Times
Change since previous poll (2nd-4th May) shown in brackets
| Labour | 25% (-4%) |
|---|---|
| Conservative | 45% (+5%) |
| Lib Dem | 20% (+1%) |
| Others | 9% (-2%) |
How good a leader (on a 10-point scale) is…
| All voters | Oct-04 | Nov-04 | Jan-05 | Jan-06 | May-06 | Jul-06 | Sep-06 | Jan-07 | May-07 | Jul-07 | Jan-08 | Mar-08 | Apr-08 | May-08 | Jun-08 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard | 4.15 | 4.54 | 4.58 | ||||||||||||
| Cameron | 5.28 | 5.11 | 4.98 | 5.20 | 5.11 | 4.95 | 4.81 | 5.07 | 5.23 | 4.96 | 5.36 | 5.25 | |||
| Blair | 5.31 | 4.85 | 5.07 | 5.33 | 4.72 | 4.21 | 4.63 | 4.69 | 5.22 | ||||||
| Brown | 5.00 | 5.49 | 4.60 | 4.59 | 4.50 | 4.08 | 3.90 | ||||||||
| Kennedy | 4.98 | 4.87 | 4.95 | 4.69 | |||||||||||
| Campbell | 4.70 | 4.50 | 4.47 | 4.65 | 4.20 | 4.36 | |||||||||
| Clegg | 4.40 | 4.16 | 4.27 | 4.52 | 4.45 |
Prefefernce of Goverment
| All voters | May-04 | Sep-04 | Jan-05 | Mar-05 | Apr-05 | Jan-06 | May-06 | Sep-06 | Jan-07 | July-07 | Dec-07 | Mar-08 | Jun-08 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
I am satisfied with the Labour Government overall | 19% | 19% | 25% | 20% | 22% | 26% | 16% | 16% | 15% | 20% | 20% | 19% | 15% |
I am dissatisfied with the Labour Govt. overall, but I still prefer them to a Conservative Govt. | 39% | 41% | 32% | 34% | 33% | 33% | 34% | 35% | 32% | 33% | 27% | 26% | 29% |
I am dissatisfied with the Labour Govt. overall and I would rather have a Conservative Government. | 35% | 34% | 32% | 32% | 32% | 28% | 37% | 43% | 40% | 32% | 36% | 39% | 42% |
Next week there will be a vote in Parliament on the government's proposal to extend the time police are allowed to detain terror suspects without charging them from the current maximum of 28 days to 42 days. Please say which of the following statements is closest to your view.
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ministers have failed to make a case for any increase in the period of pre-charge detention from 28 to 42 days | 20% | 22% | 18% | 22% | 23% | 14% | 18% | 15% | 20% | 22% |
| An increase to 42 days or higher is justified for terrorist suspects because of the seriousness of the threat and the complexity of the plots | 40% | 46% | 35% | 34% | 37% | 51% | 42% | 43% | 44% | 32% |
| An increase to 42 days is only justified if safeguards are offered on parliamentary monitoring and approval over individual cases of terrorist suspects | 33% | 27% | 39% | 42% | 31% | 27% | 33% | 38% | 33% | 41% |
The problem of knife crime, especially among young people, has been in the news lately, following knife related deaths in London and Leeds. To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?
| Agree | Disagree | Net agree | |
|---|---|---|---|
The rise in knife crime is a result of deep seated social problems to which there is no quick-fix solution | 70% | 20% | 50% |
Knife crime could be significantly reduced by increasing the number of people who are stopped at random and searched for weapons. | 65% | 25% | 40% |
Knife crime could be significantly reduced by introducing tougher sentences for those found carrying a weapon and those convicted of knife-related crimes. | 85% | 10% | 75% |
Anyone over the age of 16 caught in possession of a knife should be prosecuted, rather than anyone over the age of 18, which is the current practice. | 89% | 7% | 82% |
Parents of children caught in possession of knives should be prosecuted, not just the children | 62% | 29% | 33% |
If Britain's economy were to face problems in the months or years ahead, who would you most trust to deal with it in the best interests of Britain?
| 5-7 Sep | 17 Sep | 5-7 Oct | 1-3 Feb | 20 Feb | 12 Mar | 2-4 May | 6-8 June | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown & Darling | 61% | 56% | 43% | 33% | 38% | 43% | 30% | 32% |
| Cameron & Osborne | 27% | 18% | 28% | 36% | 34% | 40% | 40% | 49% |
| Neither/Don't know | 12% | 26% | 29% | 28% | 26% | 17% | 16% | 18% |
| Net Brown & Darling | +34% | +38% | +15% | -3% | +4% | +3% | -10% | -17% |
Thinking about the recent rising price of petrol and diesel fuel, please answer the following questions. How much responsibility do you think the government bears for the high cost of petrol and diesel?
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A great deal of responsibility | 58% | 60% | 57% | 53% | 58% | 64% | 58% | 45% | 67% | 47% |
| Some responsibility | 34% | 32% | 36% | 37% | 32% | 32% | 34% | 45% | 28% | 46% |
| No responsibility | 6% | 7% | 5% | 9% | 7% | 3% | 4% | 10% | 4% | 6% |
Do you think the government should scrap the 2p increase in petrol duty that is due to take effect in the autumn, or should they go ahead with it?
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scrap it | 88% | 88% | 88% | 85% | 85% | 90% | 91% | 89% | 91% | 83% |
| Go ahead with it | 10% | 10% | 9% | 11% | 12% | 7% | 7% | 10% | 8% | 16% |
Do you think the government should cut the current level of petrol duty as well as scrapping the 2p increase in petrol duty that is due to take effect in the autumn, or should they leave the current level of petrol duty unchanged?
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cut it | 67% | 69% | 65% | 65% | 64% | 70% | 69% | 62% | 77% | 53% |
| Leave it unchanged | 30% | 29% | 31% | 33% | 32% | 25% | 28% | 36% | 21% | 46% |
Please say which of the following statements is closest to your view – even if neither statement exactly reflects your view.
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| If the government scraps the 2p increase in petrol duty that is due to take effect in the autumn or makes other cuts in the level of petrol duty it will make me think more POSITIVELY towards Gordon Brown because it will show he is listening to the concerns of ordinary people | 57% | 55% | 60% | 57% | 61% | 60% | 52% | 69% | 45% | 55% |
| If the government scraps the 2p increase in petrol duty that is due to take effect in the autumn or makes other cuts in the level of petrol duty it will make me think more NEGATIVELY towards Gordon Brown because it will show he is weak, dithering and caves into pressure | 34% | 37% | 31% | 37% | 33% | 27% | 37% | 26% | 49% | 39% |
| Net 'more positive towards GB' | 23% | 18% | 29% | 20% | 28% | 33% | 15% | 43% | -4% | 16% |
Thinking about the three main political parties – Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats – please say which, if any of them, you think of as being tainted by financial sleaze?
(Change since February 2008 shown in brackets)
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 68% (+1%) | 71% (-5%) | 64% (+2%) | 69% (-9%) | 72% (+2%) | 64% (-) | 63% (+3%) | 66% (+5%) | 78% (-8%) | 68% (-11%) |
| Conservatives | 61% (+10%) | 67% (+12%) | 55% (+8%) | 69% (+11%) | 68% (+17%) | 53% (-) | 49% (+9%) | 70% (+15%) | 60% (+17%) | 63% (-2%) |
| Lib Dems | 35% (+9%) | 36% (+8%) | 34% (+10%) | 38% (+10%) | 40% (+15%) | 28% (+2%) | 32% (+8%) | 35% (+13%) | 38% (+15%) | 24% (-6%) |
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