Poll Archive
The Times Poll – November 2008
Fieldwork: November 7th 2008 - November 9th 2008
published by The Times
Change since previous poll (October 3rd-5th) shown in brackets
| Labour | 35% (+5%) |
| Conservative | 41% (-4%) |
| Lib Dem | 16% (+1%) |
| Others | 8% (-2%) |
How good a leader (on a 10-point scale) is…
| All voters | 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 | Nov-08 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard | 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 | 4.94 | |
| Blair | 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 | 5.04 | ||||||
| Kennedy | 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 | 4.08 |
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 | 7-9 Nov-08 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown & Darling | 61% | 56% | 43% | 33% | 38% | 43% | 30% | 30% | 31% | 36% |
| Cameron & Osborne | 27% | 18% | 28% | 36% | 34% | 40% | 40% | 39% | 38% | 33% |
| Neither/Don't know | 12% | 26% | 29% | 28% | 26% | 17% | 26% | 25% | 29% | 30% |
| Net Brown & Darling | 34% | 38% | 15% | -3% | 4% | 3% | -10% | -9% | -7% | 3% |
Putting aside your party preference, which of the three main party leaders do you feel would make the better Prime Minister?
| All voters | Brown | Cameron | Clegg | Don't know | Net Brown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Right now, to deal with Britain's economy in recession | 52% | 32% | 5% | 11% | 20% |
| To lead Britain forward after the next general election | 35% | 42% | 10% | 13% | -7% |
| Change between now and the next election | -17% | 10% | 5% | 2% |
I'd like to ask how optimistic or pessimistic you are about Britain's economy. Thinking about all the things that may affect the economy - such as changes in salaries and wages, the level of interest rates and tax, the rates of inflation and unemployment, and the strength of the pound – how do you think the British economy will fare over the next year a) for the country as a whole, and b) for you and your family?
| Sep- 03 | Mar- 04 | Nov- 04 | Apr- 05 | Nov- 05 | Mar- 07 | Sep- 07 | Apr-08 | Jul- 08 | Nov-08 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country as a Whole - Well | 65% | 64% | 64% | 77% | 64% | 56% | 53% | 39% | 22% | 31% |
| Country as a Whole - Badly | 36% | 29% | 28% | 19% | 28% | 36% | 45% | 59% | 77% | 66% |
| Country as a Whole - Net | +29% | +35% | +36% | +58% | +36% | +20% | +8% | -20% | -55% | -35% |
| Me and Family - Well | 65% | 63% | 63% | 75% | 63% | 60% | 61% | 50% | 32% | 51% |
| Me and Family - Badly | 35% | 31% | 28% | 19% | 28% | 34% | 34% | 47% | 66% | 44% |
| Me and Family - Net | +30% | +32% | +35% | +56% | +35% | +26% | +27% | +3% | -34% | +7% |
I am going to read out some measures that some people have suggested should be taken to deal with Britain's economic downturn. Please say in each case how effective or ineffective you think each measure would be (very effective/quite effective/quite ineffective/very ineffective). If you don't know, please say so.
| % saying 'effective' in dealing with the economic downturn | All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A big cut interest rates like the 1.5 % reduction announced by the Bank of England on Thursday | 77% | 76% | 80% | 77% | 84% | 70% | 73% | 84% | 78% | 85% |
| Increased public borrowing now to boost the economy in the short-term even if it means higher taxes & slower spending growth in the long-term | 40% | 44% | 37% | 45% | 40% | 36% | 41% | 52% | 37% | 35% |
| Increased public spending on construction projects and house-building to keep the economy moving and to create jobs | 73% | 73% | 73% | 70% | 75% | 68% | 80% | 81% | 72% | 71% |
| Tax cuts to help people cope with the impact of the recession even if it boosts government borrowing | 61% | 58% | 65% | 56% | 67% | 61% | 58% | 62% | 65% | 60% |
| NET 'effectiveness' in dealing with the economic downturn | All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE | Lab | Con | LD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A big cut interest rates like the 1.5 per cent reduction announced by the Bank of England on Thursday | 60% | 57% | 66% | 60% | 74% | 44% | 56% | 73% | 61% | 71% |
| Incresed public borrowing now to boost the economy in the short-term even if it means higher taxes and slower spending growth in the long-term | -9% | -4% | -12% | 0% | -6% | -20% | -7% | 14% | -21% | -21% |
| Increased public spending on construction projects and house-building to keep the economy moving and to create jobs | 51% | 50% | 53% | 45% | 53% | 40% | 68% | 66% | 48% | 47% |
| Tax cuts to help people cope with the impact of the recession even if it boosts government borrowing | 31% | 23% | 39% | 19% | 39% | 32% | 32% | 31% | 36% | 28% |
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? (Change since June 2006 in brackets where applicable)
| % agreeing | All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| It is important for Britain's long term security that we have a close & special relationship with the US | 80% (+22%) | 79% (+20%) | 81% (+24%) | 79% (+13%) | 81% (+29%) | 80% (+20%) | 79% (+23%) |
| Britain's future lies more with Europe than with America | 62% (-3%) | 65% (-2%) | 59% (-3%) | 67% (+1%) | 58% (-7%) | 58% (-12%) | 63% (+5%) |
| America is a force for good in the world | 54% (+10%) | 56% (+8%) | 53% (+14%) | 49% (-) | 52% (+16%) | 63% (+17%) | 56% (+13%) |
| Gordon Brown should be as close to Barack Obama as Tony Blair was to George W. Bush | 61% | 60% | 61% | 59% | 63% | 64%) | 58% |
| % agreeing | Labour | Conservative | Lib Dem |
|---|---|---|---|
| It is important for Britain's long term security that we have a close & special relationship with the US | 84% (+21%) | 82% (+14%) | 79% (+33%) |
| Britain's future lies more with Europe than with America | 67% (-1%) | 59% (-2%) | 70% (-) |
| America is a force for good in the world | 61% (+8%) | 58% (+2%) | 47% (+14%) |
| Gordon Brown should be as close to Barack Obama as Tony Blair was to George W. Bush | 74% | 53% | 63% |
| Net agreement | All | Men | Women | AB | C1 | C2 | DE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| It is important for Britain's long term security that we have a close & special relationship with the US | +62% (+40%) | +60% (+37%) | +63% (+42%) | +59% (+23%) | +63% (+41%) | +63% (+39%) | +62% (+40%) |
| Britain's future lies more with Europe than with America | +30% (-8%) | +34% (-7%) | +26% (-9%) | +39% (-) | +24% (-14%) | +22% (-24%) | +32% (+3%) |
| America is a force for good in the world | +17% (+18%) | +20% (+13%) | +15 (+24%) | +4% (-3%) | +12% (+29%) | +36% (+29%) | +23% (+24%) |
| Gordon Brown should be as close to Barack Obama as Tony Blair was to George W. Bush | +26% | +24% | +27% | +21% | +29% | +34% | +22% |
| Net agreement agreeing | Labour | Conservative | Lib Dem |
|---|---|---|---|
| It is important for Britain's long term security that we have a close & special relationship with the US | +71% (+49%) | +65% (+27%) | +60% (+66%) |
| Britain's future lies more with Europe than with America | +39% (-5%) | +17% (-9%) | +45% (+1%) |
| America is a force for good in the world | +30% (+14%) | +26% (+8%) | -5% (+25%) |
| Gordon Brown should be as close to Barack Obama as Tony Blair was to George W. Bush | +50% | +9% | +28% |
Thinking about Barack Obama, who this week was elected to be the next President of the United States, which of Britain's three main party leaders – Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg – do you think...
| All voters | Brown | Cameron | Clegg | None of them | Don't know | Net Brown lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ... is closest to Barack Obama in terms of their beliefs and policies | 35% | 25% | 5% | 8% | 28% | 10% |
| ...is most likely to build a strong working relationship with Barack Obama, representing Britain's best interests | 41% | 33% | 3% | 4% | 19% | 8% |
| Represents the kind of change and progress in Britain that Barack Obama says that he represents in America | 30% | 34% | 6% | 8% | 23% | -4% |
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