Most Voters Say Government Should Focus on NHS Waiting Lists and Tackling Inflation, Only Tory Voters Prioritise Immigration
As we enter a new year in politics, the Government still faces the same challenges. Polling on the nation's political agenda, conducted by PeoplePolling for Policy Exchange, has found that voters put the top 3 issues facing the government as reducing NHS waiting lists, tackling inflation and building more energy infrastructure.
The fact NHS waiting times and inflation comes out top is not surprising. These issues are commonly held as the most salient issues facing British voters. Building more energy infrastructure, with the specific question highlighting renewables, might suggest the issue of the environment is more important than other polls have suggested. Though the specific mention of both renewables, and the need for "self-sufficient" energy, might incline a higher response rate from those of differing political stripes.
The stark polarisation on the importance of immigration by party support is particularly profound, though broadly in keeping with other polls. It is worth noting, these figures are not directly comparable to other such cases of issues polling; as it specifically prompts for one side of each issue, ie "reducing immigration" as opposed to immigration generally. It may well understate the salience of immigration for those who support higher levels - exaggerating the extent of party-based polarisation.
Policy Exchange's report highlights imposing a ban on LGBT conversion therapy as an area with "significant, active opposition". This is, to an extent, an over-interpretation of the polling. Opinion polling, including in this survey, broadly finds that LGBT issues have low salience amongst the population. Whilst it does find a significant section of voters oppose a ban on conversion therapy; the question isn't being asked of the issue itself - only in comparison to other issues. It is of course expected that, when asked to "select up to three things the government should not do", an issue low on voters' agenda comes out with more responses than others. The proportion of responses may also be overstated based on this effect, as voters are allowed to select up to three options each. So, this poll alone is by no means sufficient to support a claim that there is "significant, active opposition" to a ban on conversion therapy specifically.
The new year hasn't brought renewal for public perceptions of the government's record. When prompted for an area where the government has done well, a large plurality (of over 30%) responded "nothing". This amounted to 414 responses. With the next highest, "covid", on just 90. Meanwhile, 63% of respondents disagree with the statement that the government "has a clear sense of purpose". The government can by no means rely on their pre-existing record in any future contest.
Considering the predominance of the cost of living as a salient issue, it is particularly telling that in a separate PeoplePolling survey, 70% said they were "not confident at all" of the government's ability to deal with it in 2023. It's worth looking out for these figures if inflation does begin to fall in the coming months, as many economists expect it might.
