Health Climbs to Top of Voters' Priorities

With strikes and an acute winter health crisis, the NHS has dominated media attention over the past month. It therefore comes as little surprise to see the issue climb the ranks of various salience trackers, with Ipsos MORI's issues index today and Redfield & Wilton's poll yesterday both putting it top.

Ipsos sees "The NHS/Hospitals/Healthcare" climb two places and by 15% since December. It's now the top issue, overtaking the economy and inflation. Redfield & Wilton also put it top, with 63% saying it's a top issue, to 60% for the economy.

Although YouGov's latest batch of data presents a similar hierarchy, they put the economy just above healthcare. This could be, in part, explained by the fact they distinguish between those saying "inflation" from "the economy", whilst YouGov just prompts for the economy. Though when Ipsos respondents are asked to put forward just one priority, the economy does beat out health - suggesting whilst concern over health is more universal, it is often felt more strongly over the economy. Either way, it's clear that healthcare and the economy are far and away voters' top concerns and that the former has been rising as of late.

The importance of healthcare isn't correlated to party vote, with 48% of supporters of each major party saying it's a top issue. Whilst immigration remains an issue where concern is polarised along party lines. Intuitively, and in keeping with prior evidence, older voters are more likely to show concern for healthcare, with 51% of those aged 65+ prioritising it compared to just 16% of those aged 18-24.

Labour will be more than happy to keep the NHS high on the agenda. It's something they are comfortable speaking on, especially when the Conservatives have been responsible for it for 13 years, and the party is persistently far more trusted on health. Whether this is feasible as winter pressures ease and (if) strikes are resolved remains to be seen.