COMRES / ITV NEWS POLL: NHS SHOULD BE BIGGEST GOVERNMENT PRIORITY AT PRESENT TIME & LABOUR TRUSTED MOST TO MANAGE THE NHS
A brand new poll conducted by ComRes for ITV News reveals that managing the NHS should be the biggest priority for the government at the present time (53%). This is followed by controlling immigration (45%) and growing the economy for everyone in Britain (40%).
There’s a difference of opinion in age groups on the issue of controlling immigration – it’s selected as a top priority for the Government by three in five (60%) of those aged 55–64, compared to only a quarter (26%) of 18–24 year olds.
A quarter (26%) of the British public say that making the welfare system fairer should be one of the three biggest priorities, while a fifth say the same for providing adequate care for the elderly (21%), improving housing affordability (21%) or redefining Britain’s relationship with the EU (20%). Just one in ten Britons think that reducing crime and anti-social behaviour or improving the education system should be one of the biggest priorities for the Government (both 11%).
On trust, Brits trust the Labour Party the most to manage the NHS (36%) and improve housing affordability (36%), while the Conservative Party are the most trusted to reduce the Government’s budget deficit (44%) and promote UK economic growth (39%).
Both Labour and Conservative have seen improvements to their scores for keeping down the cost of everyday items - largely at the expense of UKIP and fewer people saying ‘don’t know’. Labour is now most trusted on it by 32%, compared to 24% who most trust the Conservatives. This leaves Labour with a lead of eight points - broadly unchanged from their lead this time six months ago (nine points).
Full data tables can be found here and here.