Poll Archive
The Times Poll - October 2008
Fieldwork: October 3rd 2008 - October 5th 2008
published by The Times
Change since previous poll (29th-31st August) shown in brackets
| Labour | 30% (+3%) |
|---|---|
| Conservative | 45% (+2%) |
| Lib Dem | 15% (-3%) |
| Others | 10% (-2%) |
The ‘Others' vote is broken down between:
| SNP | 4% |
|---|---|
| Green | 2% |
| UKIP | 1% |
| BNP | 1% |
| Plaid Cymru | 1% |
How good a leader (on a 10-point scale) is…
| All voters | 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 | Oct-08 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard | 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 | 5.24 | ||
| Blair | 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 | 4.38 | |||||||
| Kennedy | 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 | 4.20 |
With Britain's economy facing problems in the months or years ahead, who do you most trust to deal with it in the best interests of Britain?
| 5-7 Sep-07 | 17 Sep-07 | 5-7 Oct-07 | 1-3 Feb-08 | 20 Feb-08 | 12 Mar-08 | 2-4 May-08 | 29-31 Aug-08 | 3-5 Oct-08 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown & Darling | 61% | 56% | 43% | 33% | 38% | 43% | 30% | 30% | 31% |
| Cameron & Osborne | 27% | 18% | 28% | 36% | 34% | 40% | 40% | 39% | 38% |
| Neither/Don't know | 12% | 26% | 29% | 28% | 26% | 17% | 26% | 25% | 29% |
| Net Brown & Darling | 34% | 38% | 15% | -3% | 4% | 3% | -10% | -9% | -7% |
Who do you think deserves most blame for the crisis in the banking system?
| American mortgage lenders | 26% |
|---|---|
| People who took out loans and mortgages they couldn't really afford | 15% |
| The British Government | 12% |
| The American Government | 12% |
| British banks | 11% |
| The Financial Services Authority | 11% |
| The Bank of England | 4% |
How worried are you about the safety of money you have in banks and building societies?
[USA data is from the same question asked by Gallup for USA Today, fieldwork 27th-29th September]
| GB | USA | |
|---|---|---|
| Very worried | 13% | 16% |
| Moderately worried | 24% | 29% |
| All 'worried' | 37% | 45% |
| Not too worried | 32% | 27% |
| Not worried at all | 24% | 24% |
| All 'not worried' | 56% | 51% |
| Doesn't apply | 7% | 3% |
| Net 'worried' | -19% | -6% |
I am going to read out some words and phrases. Please say whether each one applies more to David Cameron or more to Gordon Brown.
Thinking about the challenges facing the country, including the economic downturn and the crisis in the banking system, how important are each of the following attributes in a Prime Minister?
| % saying important | Applies more to Cameron | Applies more to Brown | Net Brown lead | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good judgement | 97% | 40% | 36% | -4% |
| Experienced | 88% | 11% | 77% | 66% |
| Change | 86% | 60% | 22% | -38% |
| Character | 86% | 50% | 32% | -18% |
Some people say that it is time for a change in Britain, while other people disagree and say that it is better to stick with the devil you know. Which of these is closest to your view?
[Change since September 2007 – at the peak of the Brown honeymoon bounce, when the question was last asked – shown in brackets]
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Con | Lab | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time for a change | 65% (+11%) | 64% (+7%) | 66% (+14%) | 68% (+19%) | 64% (+7%) | 69% (+7%) | 62% (+12%) | 93% (+2%) | 29% (+15%) | 75% (+1%) |
| Devil you know | 30% (-13%) | 32% (-8%) | 29% (-16%) | 27% (-20%) | 33% (-7%) | 29% (-7%) | 33% (-13%) | 6% (-2%) | 69% (-16%) | 22% (-1%) |
| net 'time for a change' | +35% (+24%) | +32% (+15%) | +37% (+30%) | +41% (+39%) | +31% (+14%) | +40% (+14%) | +29% (+25%) | 87% (+4%) | -40% (+31%) | 53% (+2%) |
Gordon Brown has just completed a reshuffle of government ministers. Please say if you agree or disagree with the following statements.
| % agreeing | All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The reshuffle has renewed and refreshed the government | 35% | 33% | 37% | 32% | 36% | 31% | 40% | 63% | 23% | 39% |
| The reshuffle has made the Government stronger | 29% | 28% | 29% | 28% | 28% | 29% | 30% | 55% | 16% | 43% |
| The reshuffle makes me more confident the government will really get to grips with the problems facing Britain | 30% | 31% | 30% | 25% | 31% | 30% | 36% | 59% | 13% | 43% |
| Gordon Brown reshuffling Ministers will not change anything - the government has run out of steam and it is time for a change | 63% | 61% | 65% | 59% | 66% | 66% | 61% | 32% | 86% | 57% |
| Net agreement | All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The reshuffle has renewed and refreshed the government | -18% | -25% | -12% | -27% | -14% | -27% | -7% | 38% | -50% | -15% |
| The reshuffle has made the Government stronger | -26% | -29% | -24% | -29% | -26% | -27% | -23% | 23% | -60% | 1% |
| The reshuffle makes me more confident the government will really get to grips with the problems facing Britain | -28% | -28% | -28% | -42% | -23% | -28% | -20% | 27% | -69% | -4% |
| Gordon Brown reshuffling Ministers will not change anything - the government has run out of steam and it is time for a change | 33% | 29% | 37% | 26% | 39% | 38% | 28% | -31% | 75% | 16% |
©2008 All text copyright Populus Limited