Poll Archive
The Times Poll - May 2009
Fieldwork: May 27th 2009 - May 28th 2009
published by The Times
Change since previous Times poll (May 8th-10th) shown in brackets
| Labour | 21% (-5%) |
|---|---|
| Conservative | 41% (+2%) |
| Lib Dem | 15% (-7%) |
| Others | 23% (+10%) |
The 23% for ‘Others' breaks down as:
| UKIP | 8% |
|---|---|
| Green | 5% |
| BNP | 4% |
| SNP | 4% |
| Plaid Cymru | 1% |
| Others | 1% |
Which party will you vote for in the European elections on June 4th? Will it be [rotate order] Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, SNP [Scotland only], Plaid Cymru [Wales only], UKIP, BNP, Green or another party?
If ‘another party':
Will that be (rotate order) Veritas, the Jury Team, Libertas or some other party - or do you not know how you will vote?
[Change since last poll, May 8th-10th, shown in brackets]
| Labour | Conservative | Lib Dem | SNP | Plaid Cymru | UKIP | BNP | Green | Others | Net Con lead | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General election | 21% (-5%) | 41% (+2%) | 15% (-7%) | 4% (+1%) | 1% (-) | 8% (+5%) | 4% (+1%) | 5% (+3%) | 1% (-) | 20% (+7%) |
| European elections | 16% (-9%) | 30% (-4%) | 12% (-8%) | 2% (-2%) | 1% (-1%) | 19% (+13%) | 5% (+3%) | 10% (+5%) | 4% (+2%) | 11% (-6%) |
| Difference | -5% | -11% | -3% | -2% | - | +11%% | +1% | +5% | +3% |
Which of the three main political parties – (rotate order) Conservative, Labour or Liberal Democrat - do you think has been most badly damaged by the recent coverage of abuse of the system of Parliamentary allowances by some MPs and which the least damaged If you think that all the main political parties have been damaged about equally, or that none of them have really been damaged by this, please say so?
| MOST DAMAGED | All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 35% | 40% | 32% | 38% | 41% | 31% | 30% | 19% | 56% | 40% | 38% |
| Conservative | 7% | 8% | 7% | 7% | 8% | 5% | 8% | 19% | 2% | 19% | 7% |
| Lib Dem | 1% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 1% |
| All equally | 50% | 47% | 53% | 51% | 43% | 55% | 55% | 54% | 38% | 39% | 48% |
| None | 2% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 0% | 1% | 0% |
| LEAST DAMAGED | All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1% | 2% | 1% | 0% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 0% | 1% | 2% |
| Conservative | 4% | 5% | 4% | 4% | 6% | 5% | 3% | 3% | 10% | 0% | 3% |
| Lib Dem | 35% | 38% | 32% | 39% | 40% | 27% | 31% | 27% | 45% | 54% | 41% |
| Don't know | 58% | 54% | 61% | 57% | 52% | 64% | 61% | 65% | 44% | 42% | 53% |
And which of the three main party leaders – (rotate order) Gordon Brown, David Cameron or Nick Clegg - do you think has been most badly damaged by the recent coverage of abuse of the system of Parliamentary allowances by some MPs and which the least damaged? If you think that all the main party leaders have been damaged about equally, or that none of them have really been damaged by this, please say so?
| MOST DAMAGED | All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown | 62% | 68% | 57% | 65% | 62% | 65% | 55% | 50% | 76% | 67% | 64% |
| Cameron | 5% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 4% | 3% | 7% | 11% | 3% | 6% | 6% |
| Clegg | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 0% | 1% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 0% |
| All equally | 25% | 22% | 28% | 22% | 26% | 23% | 28% | 30% | 14% | 22% | 22% |
| None | 3% | 2% | 3% | 2% | 4% | 1% | 3% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 3% |
| LEAST DAMAGED | All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown | 3% | 3% | 3% | 0% | 3% | 3% | 6% | 10% | 3% | 3% | 2% |
| Cameron | 27% | 29% | 25% | 25% | 29% | 34% | 20% | 29% | 31% | 18% | 30% |
| Clegg | 56% | 60% | 52% | 63% | 58% | 47% | 55% | 51% | 55% | 78% | 59% |
| Don't know | 11% | 7% | 15% | 11% | 7% | 13% | 15% | 10% | 10% | 1% | 5% |
I am going to read out a list of possible reforms to Britain's political system and the way that Parliament works. For each one, please say if you think it is a reform that would improve the way that Britain's political system works, or if you think it would make things worse. If you think it wouldn't make much difference either way please say so.
| % saying 'would improve the political system' | |
|---|---|
| Introducing a system for 'recalling' MPs so that they would have to put themselves forward for immediate re-election if, between general elections, they are found guilty of breaking House of Commons rules and a large number of people in their constituency sign a petition calling for this | 82% |
| More use of national referendums to let voters have a direct say on important constitutional and policy issues | 77% |
| Allowing local referendums on important issues affecting local communities if enough people indicated that they wanted one | 76% |
| Fixed-term Parliaments so that Prime Ministers no longer have the power to choose the date of general elections and elections would take place on a fixed date every four years. | 74% |
| More 'free votes' - where MPs vote in Parliament on the basis of their own opinion, rather than being told how to vote by their party | 73% |
| Publishing the expenses claims of all public servants earning more than £150,000 | 72% |
| Reducing the number of MPs in the House of Commons in order to reduce the cost to the taxpayer | 66% |
| Giving local councils the power to reverse Whitehall decisions to close local services, such as post offices, and the power to raise money locally to keep such services open | 66% |
| Stopping MPs from having second jobs | 56% |
| Changing Britain's electoral system from the present first-past-the-post system to a more proportional system where there is a closer link between votes cast and seats won. | 56% |
| MPs voting remotely - via the internet, video-link or by phone – so that they can spend more time in their constituencies and less time in Westminster | 56% |
| Creating a completely elected upper House of Parliament to replace the current House of Lords | 51% |
| Limiting MPs to being able to serve only a fixed number of terms in Parliament | 47% |
The next general election, for Westminster MPs, has to take place in the next year or so. Which of the following do you think is the most likely result at the next general election?
[Change since April 29-30, when this question was last asked, shown in brackets]
| All | Lab | Con | Lib Dem | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Conservative landslide (a majority of over 100 in the House of Commons) | 14% (-2%) | 7% | 23% | 11% |
| A Conservative victory but not with a very large majority in the House of Commons | 37% (-2%) | 16% | 55% | 50% |
| A 'hung Parliament' where no party has an overall majority in the House of Commons but the Conservatives are the largest party | 13% (+1%) | 10% | 10% | 18% |
| A 'hung Parliament' where no party has an overall majority in the House of Commons but Labour are the largest party | 10% (+3%) | 20% | 1% | 7% |
| A Labour victory but not with a very large majority in the House of Commons | 9% (-5%) | 28% | 5% | 7% |
| A Labour landslide (a majority of over 100 in the House of Commons) | 5% (+1%) | 13% | 3% | 4% |
| All | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALL CONSERVATIVE VICTORY | 51% (-4%) | 23% | 78% | 61% |
| ALL LABOUR VICTORY | 14% (-4%) | 41% | 8% | 11% |
| ALL HUNG PARLIAMENT | 23% (+4%) | 30% | 11% | 25% |
| All | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CONSERVATIVES LARGEST PARTY | 64% (-3%) | 33% | 88% | 79% |
| LABOUR LARGEST PARTY | 25% | 61% | 9% | 18% |
©2010 All text copyright Populus Limited