YouGov/Sunday Times - CON 32, LAB 41, LD 11, UKIP 9

The weekly YouGov/Sunday Times poll is up here - topline figures are CON 32%, LAB 41%, LDEM 11%, UKIP 9%. This week's poll is very a grab bag of questions on various issues - the most interesting ones (energy & long term care show the usual sort of results) were on smacking and roads.

Over two thirds of parents say they smacked their own children, though there is a clear generational pattern. 78% of those parents who are now over 60 say they smacked their children, more recent parents are less likely to have done so - only 41% of parents under 40 say they have smacked their children. Only 16% parents who smacked their children say it is something they regret having done. Turning to the legal angle, only 17% of people would support making it illegal to smack children, compared to 72% of people who are opposed. There is far less support for corporal punishment in schools - only 40% of people think it should be legalised, 54% think it should be illegal.

Turning to roads, 66% of people say that the government does not spend enough on roads. However, there is relatively little support for

actually *raising* more money to spend on roads. Only 18% would support higher taxes to fund road improvements, only 16% would support an annual fee for using motorways to fund road improvements. The highest support was for motorways tolls, which were supported by 35%, but opposed by 53%. Essentially people support the idea of spending more on roads, but aren't willing to actually pay for it. Asked about the planning system, 45% thought it was important that local councils and residents should be able to block roads that damaged their local area, 30% thought that self-interested councils and residents shouldn't be able to block road developments that are important for the economy.

Meanwhile, full tables for the Survation poll of Eastleigh are now online here