Most voters still back striking workers despite disruption, new poll reveals

Mike Underwood | 14 July 2023
Most voters still back striking workers despite disruption, new poll reveals

A new Omnisis poll shows that more than half of Brits still back striking workers despite two-in-five people saying they’ve been disrupted by strikes.

The pollsters found that 58% of voters said they support striking public sector workers, with 30% saying they don’t. Only 12% saying they didn’t know.

This majority support comes despite 39% of people saying their lives have been or will be disrupted by strikes. 56% said the strikes had made no impact with only 4% saying they didn’t know.

The latest poll also showed the public believes the reason behind the strikes is mainly through necessity (62%), with a quarter of people (26%) saying greed and 12% didn’t know.

Meanwhile more than two thirds of voters (68%) said the Government had not done all it could to avoid the strikes, with only 20% believing they had and 12% said they didn’t know.

And finally, as Rishi Sunak announced a 6% public sector pay rise, without raising budgets, voters were asked if they felt this was appropriate. Nearly half (47%) agreed it was, 31% disagreed and 22% didn’t know.

Labour proposal to combat conflict of interest

This week, the Labour Party proposed a ban on ministers taking lobbying jobs related to their former briefs for up to five years. Omnisis asked if voters agreed or disagreed with this policy proposal.

  • 56% agree with the proposal
  • 11% disagree with the proposal
  • 34% don’t know

Omnisis weekly trackers

Labour’s lead over the Conservatives fell four points to 47% this week while Prime Minister Rishi Sunak clawed back some approval points. 

ON VOTER INTENTION

  • Lab 47% (-4) 
  • Con 25% (NC) 
  • LD 10% (+2) 
  • SNP 3% (NC)
  • Ref 6% (+1) 
  • Green 5% (NC)

ON PRIME MINISTER’S APPROVAL

  • Approve: 27% (NC) 
  • Disapprove: 42% (-3) 
  • Neither: 30% (+2) 

ON WHO’D MAKE THE BEST PRIME MINISTER

  • Sir Keir Starmer: 34% (-2) 
  • Rishi Sunak: 27% (NC) 
  • Don’t Know: 39% (+2)

ON BREXIT SENTIMENT

All respondents

  • Stay Out: 34% (+2) 
  • Re-join: 48% (-1)
  • DK or not voting: 18% (-1) 

Excluding don’t knows and will not votes

  • Stay Out: 41% (+1) 
  • Re-join: 59% (-1) 

 

This week’s poll was conducted on 13th-14th July 2023, questioned 1,361 people and is weighted to a national representative population.

Tables will be posted here: https://www.omnisis.co.uk/poll-results

 

Image credit: Roger Blackwell from Norwich, UK, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Omnisis Ltd

Jactin House 24 Hood Street Ancoats M4 6WX

Privacy Policy