NHS should be Labour’s priority, voters say in latest poll

Mike Underwood | 03 March 2023
NHS should be Labour’s priority, voters say in latest poll

Three quarters of Brits say Labour should prioritise fixing the NHS as the main thrust of its ‘five national missions’, in a new poll by Omnisis.

Pollsters asked voters to rank which of Labour’s ‘five missions’ it should prioritise, with 75% of people ranking the NHS in their top three, followed by making Britain a green energy powerhouse - especially during surging energy bills.

When asked to rank Labour’s priorities, these were the most chosen as a top three priority:

  • 75% - build an NHS fit for the future
  • 46% - Make Britain a clean energy superpower
  • 40% - Make Britain’s streets safe
  • 22% - Break down the barriers to opportunity at every stage
  • 17% - Secure the highest sustained growth in the G7

Brian Cooper, Managing Director of Omnisis, said: “These are interesting findings which tally with our weekly tracker which regularly places Britain’s healthcare system as one of the nation’s top three concerns.

“What is perhaps surprising is the overwhelming support for the NHS as one of the main priorities, especially during a cost of living crisis and against an uncertain and fraught geopolitical backdrop.”

Meanwhile, Omnisis asked for people’s reaction to the suggestion by Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, that parents of truanting children should have benefits stopped. 40% agreed with Mr Gove, with 32% disagreeing and 22% in neither camp.

In our other weekly trackers, in a week of Lockdown Files revelations and the signing of the Windsor Agreement, the Conservatives made up a little ground on Labour:

ON VOTER INTENTION

  • Labour’s lead over the Conservatives fell to 19 points as the Tories picked up a couple of points this week.
    • Lab: 45% (-3)
    • Con: 26 (+2)
    • LibDem: 11% (+1) 
    • SNP: 4% NC)
    • Ref: 6% (-2)
    • Green: 6% (+1)

ON THE PRIME MINISTER

After a couple of weeks of hitting his lowest approval rating, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak enjoyed a bounce in support this week as he basked in the warm glow of supportive headlines around the Windsor Agreement:

  • Approve: 31% (+6)
  • Disapprove: 37% (-8) 
  • Don’t know: 32% (+2)

Mr Sunak, however, still trails Sir Keir Starmer as the nation’s preferred choice to lead the nation, according to Omnisis’ latest ‘Best PM’ tracker:

  • Sir Keir Starmer: 36% (-2)
  • Rishi Sunak: 31% (+5) 
  • Don’t Know: 33% (-4)

ON BREXIT

  • Finally, our Brexit sentiment tracker reflects the visible warming of relations between the UK and the EU this week, with 60% of people saying they would vote to re-join if another referendum was held tomorrow versus 40% who would vote to stay out.

The poll, conducted on 2nd-3rd March 2023, questioned 1,284 people and is weighted to a national representative population. The tables will be published here: https://www.omnisis.co.uk/poll-results

Image credit: Photo by Pavel Danilyuk: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-healthcare-worker-measuring-a-patient-s-blood-pressure-using-a-sphygmomanometer-7108344/

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