Poll Archive
Times Poll - April 2009
Fieldwork: April 3rd 2009 - April 6th 2009
published by The Times
Change since previous poll (March 6th-8th) shown in brackets
| Labour | 30% (-) |
|---|---|
| Conservative | 43% (+1%) |
| Lib Dem | 18% (-1%) |
| Others | 9% (-) |
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 | 25-26 Nov-08 | 5-7 Dec-08 | 9-11 Jan-09 | 6-8 Mar-09 | 3-5 Apr-09 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown & Darling | 61% | 56% | 43% | 33% | 38% | 43% | 30% | 30% | 31% | 38% | 40% | 38% | 33% | 34% |
| Cameron & Osborne | 27% | 18% | 28% | 36% | 34% | 40% | 40% | 39% | 38% | 35% | 31% | 35% | 37% | 37% |
| Neither/Don't know | 12% | 26% | 29% | 28% | 26% | 17% | 26% | 25% | 29% | 27% | 30% | 28% | 31% | 29% |
| Net Brown & Darling | +34% | +38% | +15% | -3% | +4% | +3% | -10% | -9% | -7% | +3% | +9% | +3% | -4% | -3% |
A grouping of the leaders of most of the world's biggest economies – known as the G20 – has been meeting this week in London, under the Chairmanship; of Gordon Brown, to discuss what more can be done to address the global economic downturn. On Thursday they announced a package of measures to help troubled economies, boost international trade and tougher regulation of banks.
How much confidence do you have that the G20 meeting and the measures agreed will help the recession here in Britain?
(Change since last month, when the question was expectations for the G20 summit, shown in brackets)
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A great deal of confidence | 8% (+2%) | 9% (+2%) | 8% (+3%) | 10% (+2%) | 8% (+1%) | 8% (+6%) | 8% (+4%) | 22% (+9%) | 4% (-) | 8% (+7%) |
| A little confidence | 66% (+10%) | 65% (+10%) | 67% (+10%) | 73% (+11%) | 67% (+10%) | 58% (+8%) | 63% (+11%) | 65% (-1%) | 69% (+12%) | 71% (+7%) |
| No confidence | 24% (-14%) | 25% (-13%) | 22% (-15%) | 14% (-15%) | 23% (-13%) | 33% (-14%) | 27% (-14%) | 10% (-19%) | 26% (-14%) | 19% (-16%) |
How much confidence do you have that the G20 meeting and the measures agreed will help the global economy to recover?
(Change since last month, when the question was expectations for the G20 summit, shown in brackets)
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A great deal of confidence | 11% (+6%) | 13% (+7%) | 10% (+5%) | 12% (+4%) | 13% (+6%) | 10% (+8%) | 10% (+6%) | 24% (+12%) | 8% (+3%) | 14% (+11%) |
| A little confidence | 68% (+4%) | 67% (+3%) | 68% (+5%) | 72% (+1%) | 70% (+5%) | 62% (+3%) | 65% (+8%) | 63% (-9%) | 74% (+6%) | 67% (+1%) |
| No confidence | 19% (-11%) | 19% (-10%) | 19% (-11%) | 13% (-9%) | 16% (-11%) | 26% (-12%) | 23% (-13%) | 10% (-12%) | 16% (-11%) | 16% (-15% |
And, from what you've seen and heard about it, does the way that Gordon Brown chaired the gathering of G20 leaders in London make you feel more positively towards him as Prime Minister, or less positively towards him, or does it make no real difference to your view of Gordon Brown either way?
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| More positive | 26% | 28% | 25% | 34% | 24% | 24% | 23% | 48% | 14% | 30% |
| Less positive | 11% | 12% | 9% | 7% | 9% | 14% | 14% | 4% | 17% | 7% |
| No difference | 62% | 59% | 65% | 57% | 68% | 61% | 63% | 49% | 68% | 62% |
| Net 'more positive' | 15% | 16% | 16% | 27% | 15% | 10% | 9% | 44% | -3% | 23% |
How widespread do you think the abuse is by MPs of their system of expenses and allowances?
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All or nearly all MPs do it | 27% | 26% | 27% | 18% | 25% | 31% | 35% | 24% | 30% | 18% |
| A majority of MPs do it, but many do not | 42% | 44% | 40% | 42% | 43% | 42% | 40% | 37% | 42% | 46% |
| A majority of MPs do not do it, but many do | 20% | 20% | 19% | 27% | 20% | 16% | 14% | 24% | 22% | 26% |
| Very few MPs do it | 8% | 6% | 10% | 9% | 11% | 5% | 5% | 11% | 5% | 5% |
Do you think that your local constituency MP abuses the system of Parliamentary expenses and allowances?
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 34% | 37% | 31% | 29% | 32% | 41% | 36% | 34% | 33% | 29% |
| No | 38% | 39% | 38% | 47% | 40% | 31% | 33% | 43% | 41% | 44% |
| Don't know | 28% | 24% | 31% | 24% | 28% | 27% | 31% | 23% | 26% | 27% |
Thinking about the current system whereby MPs who live a certain distance from Parliament receive an allowance for a second home, which of the following is closest to your view?
| All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The present system of allowances for second homes should be retained but the rules should be tightened up | 22% | 24% | 21% | 32% | 24% | 16% | 15% | 19% | 21% | 31% |
| The second homes allowance should be scrapped but MPs' salary should be raised to compensate | 19% | 19% | 20% | 23% | 20% | 14% | 19% | 28% | 23% | 16% |
| The second homes allowance should be scrapped and there should be no increase in MPs' pay | 56% | 54% | 58% | 42% | 52% | 69% | 64% | 50% | 55% | 51% |
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