Poll Archive
The Times Poll - May 2008
Fieldwork: May 2nd 2008 - May 4th 2008
published by The Times
Change since previous poll (4th-6th April) shown in brackets
| Labour | 29% | (-4%) |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 40% | (+1%) |
| Lib Dem | 19% | (+2%) |
| Others | 12% | (+1%) |
How good a leader (on a 10-point scale) is…
| All voters | Aug-04 | Sep-04 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard | 4.52 | 4.44 | 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 | |||||
| Blair | 4.90 | 4.84 | 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 | ||||||||||
| Kennedy | 5.04 | 5.05 | 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 |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown & Darling | 61% | 56% | 43% | 33% | 38% | 43% | 30% |
| Cameron & Osborne | 27% | 18% | 28% | 36% | 34% | 40% | 40% |
| Neither/Don't know | 12% | 26% | 29% | 28% | 26% | 17% | 16% |
| Net Brown & Darling | +34% | +38% | +15% | -3% | +4% | +3% | -10% |
I'm going to read out some things which, following Labour's poor results in this week's local elections, some people have said would improve the prospects for the government. Please say in each case if you think it would or would not make Labour more likely to win the next general election.
A major reshuffle of the Cabinet by Gordon Brown, to bring in more fresh faces to the government
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Would | 36% | 34% | 38% | 30% | 38% | 39% | 38% | 51% | 25% | 43% |
| Would not | 58% | 60% | 55% | 66% | 53% | 58% | 53% | 41% | 73% | 53% |
Significant policy changes in major areas such as the NHS, crime and tax
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Would | 69% | 67% | 72% | 73% | 73% | 70% | 61% | 79% | 65% | 84% |
| Would not | 26% | 29% | 24% | 24% | 22% | 28% | 32% | 17% | 34% | 15% |
GB standing down as Prime Minister to make way for a younger, fresher, more charismatic alternative
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Would | 53% | 50% | 56% | 55% | 55% | 52% | 48% | 55% | 61% | 65% |
| Would not | 41% | 44% | 38% | 41% | 38% | 45% | 41% | 38% | 37% | 34% |
| Net Scores | All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A major reshuffle of the Cabinet by Gordon Brown, to bring in more fresh faces to the government | -22% | -26% | -17% | -36% | -15% | -19% | -15% | 10% | -48% | -10% |
| Significant policy changes in major areas such as the NHS, crime and tax | 43% | 38% | 48% | 49% | 51% | 42% | 29% | 62% | 19% | 69% |
| Gordon Brown standing down as Prime Minister to make way for a younger, fresher, more charismatic alternative | 12% | 6% | 18% | 14% | 17% | 7% | 7% | 17% | 24% | 31% |
If the government had additional funds available which of the following would you prefer to see them do (rotate order)?
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Use all the additional funds to increase spending on public services | 27% | 30% | 25% | 29% | 25% | 19% | 35% | 37% | 24% | 27% |
| Use all the additional funds to reduce taxes | 26% | 26% | 26% | 27% | 25% | 28% | 26% | 18% | 30% | 22% |
| Share the additional funds between increased spending on public services and on reduced taxes | 43% | 39% | 46% | 43% | 47% | 49% | 32% | 43% | 44% | 47% |
Change since October 2007
| All | MEN | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Increase spending | -5% | -1% | -7% | -1% | -3% | -13% | -4% | -2% | 1% | -12% |
| Reduce taxes | 1% | -1% | 3% | 4% | 1% | 1% | 1% | -2% | 3% | 2% |
| Share between spending and tax reductions | -1% | -3% | 1% | -4% | -1% | 8% | -5% | 2% | -6% | 6% |
From what you have seen and heard, who would you prefer to see win the contest to be Democratic Party's candidate for US President, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama?
| All | Men | Women | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillary Clinton | 35% | 35% | 34% | 41% | 39% | 27% |
| Barack Obama | 48% | 48% | 48% | 49% | 47% | 66% |
| Net (Obama) | 13% | 13% | 14% | 8% | 8% | 39% |
From what you have seen and heard, who would you like to see win the November election and become the next President of the United States, if the election is between John McCain for the Republican Party and Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party?
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McCain | 20% | 21% | 19% | 17% | 16% | 23% | 25% | 14% | 24% | 21% |
| Clinton | 56% | 57% | 55% | 59% | 54% | 57% | 54% | 67% | 54% | 58% |
From what you have seen and heard, who would you like to see win the November election and become the next President of the United States, if the election is between John McCain for the Republican Party and Barack Obama for the Democratic Party?
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McCain | 19% | 21% | 18% | 16% | 15% | 28% | 22% | 11% | 26% | 15% |
| Obama | 54% | 57% | 52% | 55% | 55% | 53% | 52% | 64% | 48% | 72% |
©2008 All text copyright Populus Limited