The View from Westminster: Ipsos MORI MPs Survey 1978 - 2014

The View from Westminster
The Ipsos MORI MPs survey 1978-2014 9th September 2014

The Ipsos MORI MPs Survey
Sample
An initial sample of 421 MPs were contacted and quotas on
ministerial status within party were set to ensure representativeness
This resulted in 143 interviews in total, with a breakdown as follows:
Base 143
58
66
15
Other 4
Fieldwork Dates
9 June – 6 August 2014
• For almost 40 years Ipsos MORI has been helping clients explore their relationship, reputation
and communications with Members of Parliament.
• Twice a year we conduct around 100 face-to-face interviews with MPs and the following slides
present some of the findings from the Summer 2014 wave, along with a major review of our trend
data back to the 1970s.
• This is a high quality, representative survey conducted face-to-face by our expert, highly trained
interviewers. We do not use email or online data collection as we cannot be sure that the
questionnaire will be filled out by the MPs themselves.
• We ensure those interviewed closely represent the profile of the House of Commons and data are
weighted to reflect the balance between ministerial and other positions.
Summer 2014

Contents page
Content Slide
Economic Optimism 4
Issues Facing Britain 8
Issues Facing the Public Sector 19
Issues Facing the Private Sector 25
Parliamentary Communications and
Lobbying
33
Trust in Politics and Business 45
EU Membership 63
Scottish Referendum 70
Election 2015 72
Most Impressive MP 75

Economic
Optimism
Confidence in the British economy heading
into the election

Prospects for economy – MPs are optimistic the economy will
improve in the next 12 months, Conservatives in particular
Source: Ipsos MORI MPs survey
Q Do you think the general economic condition of the country will improve, stay the same or get worse in the next 12
months?
67
15
2
15
67%
Improve
2%
Get worse
Improve Stay the same Get worse Don’t know
Base: All MPs (143), Conservative MPs (58), Labour MPs (66) asked, Summer 2014
76
4
19
32 57
5 7

Prospects for the economy – MPs’ optimism switches depending on
whether they are in power or not
65
76
52
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
80
100
Net Improve ± All MPs Conservative Labour
Q Do you think the general economic condition of the country will improve, stay the same or get worse in the next
12 months?
General
Election
General
Election
General
Election
%

-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
80
100
General
public
Captains of industry
MPs
Economic optimism among MPs, Captains of Industry and the
General Public follows a similar pattern
Q Do you think the general economic condition of the country will improve, stay the same or get worse in the next
12 months?
Base: Members of Parliament/British Captains of Industry/General Public (c. 1,000 British adults each month), 1995-2014
General
Election
General
Election
General
Election
General
Election
25
93
65
Net Improve ±
%
Source: Ipsos MORI

Issues facing
Britain
The issues that MPs think are important, and
the issues the public are telling MPs are
important

6
17
13
26
20
17
31
18
15
26
51
11
4
7
5
11
18
11
25
24
18
55
Education
Poverty/inequality
Housing
Cost of living
National Health Service
Europe
Employment / job security
Defence/foreign affairs/international
terrorism
Race relations / immigration
Getting the economy back into growth
The economy
Issues facing Britain – While the economy still clearly leads as the
most important issue…
Conservative MPs Labour MPs
Q What do you think are the most important issues facing Britain today?
52
22
20
20
18
18
15
14
10
9
9
All MPs
% Top mentions

52
18
22
20
15
20
14
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
S10 W10 S11 W11 S12 W12 S13 W13 S14
Cost of living
…It has declined in importance since 2013. Defence/terrorism has
increased rapidly in importance in this latest survey
Q What do you think are the most important issues facing Britain today?
Economy
NHS
Employment
Get economy back into growth
Top seven mentions
Base: All MPs asked each wave
Immigration
Defence/Terrorism
%

Postbag – Conservative MPs say they are approached most about
immigration while housing is the key subject for Labour MPs
66
61
58
56
54
43
42
39
33
30
23
23
21
20
Asylum/Immigration/ refugees
Benefits
Housing
Health Service
Badger culls
Child Support/Child Support Agency
Care of the elderly
Education/schools
Animal Research/ Experimentation
Social security
Famine/overseas aid
Pensions
Tax Credits
Hunting with dogs/fox hunting
All MPs | % Top mentions
Q Which of the subjects on this list, if any, do you receive most letters about in your post bag, or receive
most approaches about from individuals in clinics or other ways?
Base: All MPs (143), Conservative MPs (58), Labour MPs (66) asked, Summer 2014:
Con. (%) Lab. (%)
75 52
61 59
42 74
50 62
52 53
38 49
44 38
48 31
19 52
19 43
19 28
27 19
13 30
10 30

Postbag Trends – MPs were reporting immigration as a key Postbag
issue before it registered on our general public Issues Index
MPs Question: Which of the subjects on this list, if any, do you receive most letters about in your post bag, or receive most
approaches about from individuals in clinics or other ways?
General Public Issues Index Question: What do you see as the most/other important issues facing Britain today?
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Sep-74
Jul-75
May-76
Mar-77
Jan-78
Nov-78
Sep-79
Jul-80
May-81
Mar-82
Jan-83
Nov-83
Sep-84
Jul-85
May-86
Mar-87
Jan-88
Nov-88
Sep-89
Jul-90
May-91
Mar-92
Jan-93
Nov-93
Sep-94
Jul-95
May-96
Mar-97
Jan-98
Nov-98
Sep-99
Jul-00
May-01
Mar-02
Jan-03
Nov-03
Sep-04
Jul-05
May-06
Mar-07
Jan-08
Nov-08
Sep-09
Jul-10
May-11
Mar-12
Jan-13
Nov-13
Issues Index MPs' Postbag
%
% Immigration
Source: Ipsos MOR Issues Index and Ipsos MORI MPs survey

Postbag Trends – Housing has always been much more of a Postbag
issue than we measure in the general public Issues Index
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Sep-74
Aug-75
Jul-76
Jun-77
May-78
Apr-79
Mar-80
Feb-81
Jan-82
Dec-82
Nov-83
Oct-84
Sep-85
Aug-86
Jul-87
Jun-88
May-89
Apr-90
Mar-91
Feb-92
Jan-93
Dec-93
Nov-94
Oct-95
Sep-96
Aug-97
Jul-98
Jun-99
May-00
Apr-01
Mar-02
Feb-03
Jan-04
Dec-04
Nov-05
Oct-06
Sep-07
Aug-08
Jul-09
Jun-10
May-11
Apr-12
Mar-13
Feb-14
Issues Index MPs' Postbag % Housing
%

Postbag Trends – NHS/Healthcare has been a relatively consistent
Postbag issue since the 1990s, but more variable among public
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Sep-74
Aug-75
Jul-76
Jun-77
May-78
Apr-79
Mar-80
Feb-81
Jan-82
Dec-82
Nov-83
Oct-84
Sep-85
Aug-86
Jul-87
Jun-88
May-89
Apr-90
Mar-91
Feb-92
Jan-93
Dec-93
Nov-94
Oct-95
Sep-96
Aug-97
Jul-98
Jun-99
May-00
Apr-01
Mar-02
Feb-03
Jan-04
Dec-04
Nov-05
Oct-06
Sep-07
Aug-08
Jul-09
Jun-10
May-11
Apr-12
Mar-13
Feb-14
Issues Index MPs' Postbag % NHS/Healthcare
%

Postbag Trends – Crime trends in Postbag and Issues Index follow each
other relatively closely – both show a significant decline recently
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Sep-74
Aug-75
Jul-76
Jun-77
May-78
Apr-79
Mar-80
Feb-81
Jan-82
Dec-82
Nov-83
Oct-84
Sep-85
Aug-86
Jul-87
Jun-88
May-89
Apr-90
Mar-91
Feb-92
Jan-93
Dec-93
Nov-94
Oct-95
Sep-96
Aug-97
Jul-98
Jun-99
May-00
Apr-01
Mar-02
Feb-03
Jan-04
Dec-04
Nov-05
Oct-06
Sep-07
Aug-08
Jul-09
Jun-10
May-11
Apr-12
Mar-13
Feb-14
Issues Index MPs' Postbag % Crime/Law/Order
%

Postbag Trends – Education more of Postbag issue than a concern
among the general public in recent years
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Sep-74
Aug-75
Jul-76
Jun-77
May-78
Apr-79
Mar-80
Feb-81
Jan-82
Dec-82
Nov-83
Oct-84
Sep-85
Aug-86
Jul-87
Jun-88
May-89
Apr-90
Mar-91
Feb-92
Jan-93
Dec-93
Nov-94
Oct-95
Sep-96
Aug-97
Jul-98
Jun-99
May-00
Apr-01
Mar-02
Feb-03
Jan-04
Dec-04
Nov-05
Oct-06
Sep-07
Aug-08
Jul-09
Jun-10
May-11
Apr-12
Mar-13
Feb-14
Issues Index MPs' Postbag % Education
%

Postbag Trends – Unemployment mentions in Postbag have tracked general
public concerns closely in recent years
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Sep-74
Aug-75
Jul-76
Jun-77
May-78
Apr-79
Mar-80
Feb-81
Jan-82
Dec-82
Nov-83
Oct-84
Sep-85
Aug-86
Jul-87
Jun-88
May-89
Apr-90
Mar-91
Feb-92
Jan-93
Dec-93
Nov-94
Oct-95
Sep-96
Aug-97
Jul-98
Jun-99
May-00
Apr-01
Mar-02
Feb-03
Jan-04
Dec-04
Nov-05
Oct-06
Sep-07
Aug-08
Jul-09
Jun-10
May-11
Apr-12
Mar-13
Feb-14
Issues Index MPs' Postbag % Unemployment
%

Postbag Trends – Benefits tend not to be a major concern in the Issues
Index – but a significant (if erratic) Postbag issue
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Sep-74
Aug-75
Jul-76
Jun-77
May-78
Apr-79
Mar-80
Feb-81
Jan-82
Dec-82
Nov-83
Oct-84
Sep-85
Aug-86
Jul-87
Jun-88
May-89
Apr-90
Mar-91
Feb-92
Jan-93
Dec-93
Nov-94
Oct-95
Sep-96
Aug-97
Jul-98
Jun-99
May-00
Apr-01
Mar-02
Feb-03
Jan-04
Dec-04
Nov-05
Oct-06
Sep-07
Aug-08
Jul-09
Jun-10
May-11
Apr-12
Mar-13
Feb-14
Issues Index MPs' Postbag % Benefits
%

Issues facing the
Public Sector
The issues facing the public sector both
now, and looking forward to the next
parliament

11
20
14
15
11
14
11
4
16
8
8
57
33
12
12
20
11
12
18
6
14
7
Lack of investment
Public services under pressure
Sustaining service with reduced
budgets
Quality of service
Lack of resources
Reorganisation of public
services
Increased workloads with fewer
staff
Prospect of cuts
Inefficiency
Ageing population
Problems arising from
economic crisis
Issues facing public services today – Resourcing and budget
pressures the clear current theme …
% Top mentions
Q What do you think are the most important problems facing our public services today?
30
25
14
13
13
12
12
11
11
10
8
All MPs

0
18
13
14
19
7
20
28
31
19
5
5
11
13
30
27
24
41
Digital security
Impact of cuts on Local Authorities
Managing public expectations
Increasing demand on public services
Spending cuts to public services
Doing more for less
Delivering social care
Lack of funds for investment in the
future
Demand of an increasingly elderly
population
…while our ageing population the key longer-term pressure
Q And what do you think will be the most important problems facing our public services by the end of the next parliament in
2020?
Base: All MPs (73), Conservative MPs (32) and Labour MPs (31),asked, Summer MPs 2014
All MPs
36
25
24
22
16
13
10
10
10
% Top mentions

Ageing population, there will be more elderly people and
there will be less people paying for it. Immigration, it will
cause a perception of too many people in the country
Labour MP
Maintaining service
levels with less cash
which means
inevitably there will
have to be a very
hard look at things
which should not be
done by the public
sector at all and
probably also means
looking more openly
at some of the
different ways of
combining types of
financing, e.g. in
health whether it is
charging for GP
appointments or
whatever
The need for investment in the delivery of services and demands placed upon Conservative MP
particularly the health and caring services from an ageing population
Labour MP
The cumulative impact of debt. Debt
interest payments are now the third
biggest government budget, and the
bigger it gets the more everything else
gets squeezed. Also a general lack of
efficiency in the delivery of public
services
Conservative MP
We are going to have a fracturing of public services, so there is a wider group
of people involved and people at a local level doing much more their own thing
and that is going to mean you haven't got the level of oversight you have at the
moment
Labour MP Levels of funding, in general they will be
smaller in real terms than they have now.
Quality of management, if you want to deliver
things in an innovative way you need
innovative managers and I am not sure we
have them
Liberal Democrat MP
Issues facing the Public Sector in 2020
Q And what do you think will be the most important problems facing our public services by the end of the next parliament in
2020?

68%
93%
36%
39%
12%
67%
18%
2%
40%
48%
75%
19%
Agree Neither/nor Disagree
Cuts and Austerity – Cuts to public spending seen as more likely
than tax increases 2015 onwards – but splits along clear party lines
Q To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
A further reduction in
public spending is
inevitable in the next
parliament
Tax rises are
inevitable in the next
parliament

Most MPs think the public don’t realise what cuts are coming – but
Conservatives are more optimistic that the public will accept them
The general public
have a good
understanding of the
likely cuts and austerity
measures coming in
the next parliament
The general public will
accept that further cuts
and austerity
measures are
necessary in the next
parliament
14%
21%
7%
42%
56%
25%
74%
67%
82%
38%
16%
63%

Issues facing the
Private Sector
The issues that businesses in Britain need to
be keeping track of

Issues facing British Business – Conservative MPs much more
concerned about over-regulation than Labour MPs
40
22
19
16
16
15
14
13
13
10
37
41
19
11
26
8
14
8
12
15
43
3
20
23
7
23
17
18
13
7
Skills shortage
Over regulation
General economic conditions
Getting banks to lend
Access to Finance
Europe
Foreign competition
World trade/exports
Competitiveness
Taxation/inheritence tax
Q What do you think are the most important problems facing British business and industry today?
All MPs
% Top mentions

Issues facing British businesses – A skills shortage is currently the
most important problem, bank lending now less of a concern
Base: All MPs asked each wave (c.100-150 MPs)
16
40
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Dec-07 Jul-08 Dec-08 Jul-09 Dec-09 Jul-10 Dec-10 Jul-11 Dec-11 Jul-12 Dec-12 Jul-13 Dec-13 Jul-14
Top six mentions – All MPs
%
Getting banks to lend
Skills shortage

Issues facing British businesses – A clear partisan divide over
importance of over-regulation
22
3
41
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
S01 W01 S02 W02 S03 W03 S04 W04 S05 W05 S06 W06 S07 W07 S08 W08 S09 W09 S10 W10 S11 W11 S12 W12 S13 W13 S14
% Over-regulation
%
Base: All MPs asked each wave (c.100-150 MPs) Source: Ipsos MORI MPs survey
Conservative MPs
All MPs
Labour MPs

33%
9%
59%
44%
22%
71%
37%
56%
12%
18%
31%
Labour MPs more likely to say industry and commerce should pay
more attention to their social and environmental responsibilities
Industry and commerce
do not pay enough
attention to their social
responsibilities
should be doing more
to address
environmental issues
Base: All MPs (56), Conservative MPs (27) and Labour MPs (20),asked, Summer MPs 2014 Source: Ipsos MORI MPs survey

15%
6%
34%
8%
26%
55%
81%
15%
66%
100%
11%
Conservative MPs clearly against foreign protection and more
regulation – Labour MPs more split
British industry and
commerce should be
protected from
foreign takeover
Industry and
commerce need
more regulation
Base: All MPs (56), Conservative MPs (27) and Labour MPs (20),asked, Summer MPs 2014 Source: Ipsos MORI MPs survey

3
11
23
9
21
14
31
17
24
54
60
16
12
6
22
12
22
12
35
38
25
60
Tourism
Oil and Gas
Construction
Farming and agriculture
Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
Aerospace and defense
High Street Retail
Electricity and Power
Technology and the internet
Manufacturing
Transport
Both main parties agree on need for support for transport – but
significant differences on other industries…
Q Looking at this list of industry sectors, which two or three of them do you think need the most government support over
the next 5 years?
56
40
31
26
20
19
17
16
15
12
12
All MPs
% Top mentions

17
10
19
10
19
13
41
40
32
61
6
15
15
31
33
34
12
27
52
42
Aerospace and Defence
Oil and Gas
Transport
Electricity and Power
Financial services
Banking
Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
Construction
Technology and the internet
Manufacturing
…and construction seen as more important to growth than in need of
support
Q And which two or three of them do you think are the most important for growing the UK economy over the next 5
years?
55
41
31
24
24
24
22
17
14
13
All MPs
% Top mentions

Parliamentary
communications
and lobbying
Attitudes to political lobbying and insight into
how MPs would prefer to be communicated
with

Judgment of communications with MPs – communicating face-to-face
and on issues of relevance to constituency are key
29
22
17
15
12
11
11
9
8
8
8
Communicate on subjects relevant to constituency
Personal contact/face to face meetings
Communicate on subjects of interest to MPs
Target key individual MPs
Regular contact
Meetings/seminars
Keep contact in context / relevant information
Less volume of information
Clear/straightforward communication
Send short briefs
More credible information
Q Turning now to communications, what are the most important things companies, organisations and public service
organisations can do to develop and maintain good relations with MPs?
% %
30 29
18 24
14 23
10 23
17 7
12 9
11 13
4 15
5 11
8 7
11 6
All MPs | % Top mentions

64
58
55
52
46
38
23
21
18
17
12
7
1
21
28
30
34
25
36
45
44
49
42
38
27
13
5
5
6
3
18
13
19
15
18
27
27
45
50
4
3
9
6
3
10
11
20
3
7
9
9
9
10
10
9
9
11
9
10
10
9
9
Acts with honesty and integrity
Treatment of customers
Is Trustworthy
Quality of products or services
Treatment of employees
Quality of management
Openness and transparency
Economic contribution to Britain
Financial Performance
Public reputation
Environmental and Social responsibility
Industry Leadership
Communication with MPs
Extremely important (5) 4 3 2 Not at all important (1) Don't know
Judgement of companies – two-thirds of MPs say honesty is
extremely important in judging companies
Q How important are each of the following factors when you judge a company or organisation?
Base: All MPs (143), Conservative MPs (58), Labour MPs (66) asked, Summer 2014: Source: Ipsos MORI MPs survey

Conservatives nearly twice as favourable towards lobbying than Labour
MPs – but nearly all think the public have an unfavourable view
4
8
43
53
31
3
6
27
17
40
4
9
17
19
14
59
51
69
9
3
15
35
35
31
Very favourable Fairly favourable Neutral Fairly unfavourable Very unfavourable
Thinking about your
experience of lobbying,
are you generally
favourable or
unfavourable towards
lobbying as it currently
operates?
Favourable
47%
61%
31%
And in your opinion, do
you feel that public
perceptions of lobbying
are generally
favourable or
unfavourable?
3%
6%
0%
Unfavourable
26%
22%
29%
93%
86%
100%

Many MPs think public have limited understanding of lobbying, and
don’t see its positive side
6
14
6
15
10
24
11
6
17
11
23
28
Lobbyists have less power/influence than
the public think
The public are unaware of the positive
side of lobbying
The public believe lobbyists push vested
interests
Lobbying is an opportunity for MPs to
listen to the issues facing
business/organisations/charities
Lobbying is not understood by the public
The public have a overly negative
perception of lobbyists
Q To what extent is the public perception of lobbying reflective of your experience? Why do you say that?
27
18
16
12
9
9
All MPs
% Top mentions

Political lobbying: public perception compared to reality
It is accurate. Ultimately
everyone is lobbying
whether it is a constituent
who wishes to lobby to get
a problem with their
housing association fixed,
but the purist form of
lobbyist in terms of
corporate affairs
businesses, it can be quite
corrosive and I tend not to
deal with public affairs
companies. If you have a
company in your
constituency with an issue
you will always see them
anyhow and I would rather
have the contact made
directly with the companies
Conservative MP
Not very reflective, the public perception is dislocated from
my experience
Liberal Democrat MP
It is fairly accurate,
the public perception
is that lobbying
organisations and
pressure groups
spend a lot of
money trying to
persuade MPs of
their view and I think
that is probably the
case
Conservative MP
About the same. I don't want to
be critical of people who are
lobbying for good causes, but
when they do come and talk to
you it is very much that they
are almost robotic sometimes,
"Let's say what we have to say
and hit the MP with what we
want them to do”
Labour MP
My personal experience is that the public are wrong about lobbying. I don't think the
lobbying is nearly as bad as people make out, probably the public have an
exaggerated view of what lobbyists do, I think they think that they take us all out for
holidays to Switzerland where we ski and soak up the sunshine. The public probably
have a skewed idea of what lobbyists do. They are right to be sceptical but I think
they think lobbyists and MPs are worse than they are
Liberal Democrat MP
Q To what extent is the public perception of lobbying reflective of your experience? Why do you say that?
The complete opposite. I find
lobbying can be very
sensible, very helpful, very
informative but most
members of the public
consider that lobbying is
something you do in a brown
envelope and hand to an MP
surreptitiously. It isn't, it is an
informative process and it
advises and assists MPs
greater as long as there is no
suspicion on either part that
each one is seeking to
actually gain some unfair
advantage. When it is done
honestly and transparently it
is a vital tool in the body
politic
Labour MP

30%
37%
22%
73%
77%
75%
63%
72%
56%
27%
23%
30%
10%
11%
10%
16%
11%
21%
Political lobbyists have
become less effective
at engaging with MPs
over the past five
years
Lobbying is very useful
in helping me
understand the issues
facing businesses and
other organisations
Political lobbyists
make a positive
contribution to the
legislative process in
the UK
MPs split on whether lobbyists are less effective now – but broad
agreement that they make a positive contribution

52%
31%
78%
47%
35%
55%
21%
31%
8%
25%
28%
23%
Companies are
generally not
transparent enough
about their lobbying
activities
Attitudes to lobbying bill split along party lines – and Labour MPs
more likely to say companies not transparent enough
The Lobbying Bill
needs to be reformed

26
24
20
52
40
32
41
49
10
16
20
20
45
55
47
63
The Independent
Financial Times
The Sun
The Guardian
The Evening Standard
Daily Mail
The Daily Telegraph
The Times
Base: All MPs (104), Conservative MPs (49) and Labour MPs (44),asked, Winter MPs 2013
55
42
41
41
35
19
18
17
Newspaper readership – The Times is most widely read, but clear party
preferences between titles, particularly with the Guardian and Mail
Q Which of these daily publications, if any, do you read regularly (at least 3 issues out of 4)?
All MPs
% Top mentions

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
W
2002
S
2003
W
2003
S
2004
W
2004
S
2005
W
2005
S
2006
W
2006
S
2007
W
2007
S
2008
W
2008
S
2009
W
2009
S
2010
W
2010
S
2011
W
2011
S
2012
W
2012
S
2013
W
2013
The Times The Telegraph Daily Mail Evening Standard
The Guardian The Sun Financial Times The Independent
Newspaper readership trends – the Daily Mail is the only title to see
an increase in readership in recent years
Q Which of these daily publications, if any, do you read regularly (at least 3 issues out of 4)?
55%
42%
35%
19%
18%
17%
41%
41%
Base: All MPs asked each wave (c.100-150 MPs) Source: Ipsos MORI MPs survey

6
5
21
17
25
58
41
42
4
10
20
37
25
20
35
51
Parliamentary Brief
The Week
The Economist
The Spectator
Private Eye
New Statesman
Total Politics
The House Magazine
Base: All MPs (104), Conservative MPs (49) and Labour MPs (44),asked, Winter MPs 2013
44
40
38
26
26
21
8
5
Magazine readership – The House Magazine most widely read, with
clear party preferences on New Statesman and Spectator
Q Which of these weekly, fortnightly or monthly publications, if any, do you read regularly (at least 3 issues out of 4)?
All MPs
% Top mentions

Magazine readership – Total Politics embedded very quickly as a key
publication
Q Which of these weekly, fortnightly or monthly publications, if any, do you read regularly (at least 3 issues out of 4)?
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
W
2002
S
2003
W
2003
S
2004
W
2004
S
2005
W
2005
S
2006
W
2006
S
2007
W
2007
S
2008
W
2008
S
2009
W
2009
S
2010
W
2010
S
2011
W
2011
S
2012
W
2012
S
2013
W
2013
The House Magazine Total Politics New Statesmen The Spectator
The Economist This Week Parliamentary Brief Private Eye
44%
40%
26%
21%
8%
5%
38%
26%
Base: All MPs asked each wave (c.100-150 MPs)

Trust in Politics
and Business
Who do politicians trust – and what do they
think of trust in politicians? What can
business do to encourage trust among MPs?
And who do MPs trust with their data?

86%
83%
82%
76%
63%
61%
59%
56%
Clergy/Priest
Judge
Scientist
Doctors
Teacher
TV newsreader
Police
Pollsters
Q I am going to read out some different types of people. For each, please can you tell me if you would generally trust them to tell the
truth or not.
Base: All MPs (58), Summer MPs 2014
Base: 1,018 British Adults aged 18+ interviewed by telephone, November 2013
Trust completely/fair amount
Veracity Index (1) – MPs most likely to trust priests – teachers and
police less trusted, as are pollsters…
Source: Ipsos MORI MPs survey and Ipsos MORI Veracity Index
General Public “Yes,
trust to tell truth”
66%
82%
83%
89%
86%
69%
65%
50%

53%
51%
49%
44%
43%
33%
18%
12%
11%
Business Leaders
Civil servants
Politicians generally
The ordinary person in the street
Ministers
Trade Union officials
Bankers
Estate Agents
Journalists
Q I am going to read out some different types of people. For each, please can you tell me if you would generally trust them to tell the
truth or not.
Base: All MPs (58), Summer MPs 2014
Base: 1,018 British Adults aged 18+ interviewed by telephone, November 2013
Veracity Index (2) – MPs more likely to trust politicians than “ordinary
people”, but very low trust in bankers, estate agents and journalists
Source: Ipsos MORI MPs survey and Ipsos MORI Veracity Index
General Public “Yes,
trust to tell truth”
34%
53%
18%
64%
n/a
41%
n/a
n/a
21%

42%
45%
35%
76%
76%
80%
53%
52%
58%
16%
18%
13%
MPs split on whether trust in politicians has changed – although
majority agree that public think parties do not represent their interests
Trust in politicians to
tell the truth has not
really changed over
the past decade
The public
increasingly believe
that political parties do
not represent their
interests

77%
79%
73%
77%
70%
84%
18%
18%
20%
11%
15%
5%
MPs mostly agree the public increasingly don’t see a difference
between parties – and that politicians are out of touch
The public
that there is little
difference between
the political parties
The public
that politicians are
out of touch

15
4
4
11
16
53
40
56
89
6
12
19
16
19
25
44
68
75
Public anger about specific policies
Public refusal to accept some of the realities facing
the country
The main political parties criticising each other
Lack of significant difference between the policies
of the main parties
A lack of strong leadership across the main political
parties
Public anger about the recession and austerity
An increasing number of politicians going straight
into politicans from university
The way politics and politicians are represented in
the media
The behavior of some politicians, for example the
expenses scandal
The behaviour of politicians and representation by the media seen as
key reasons for lack of trust in politicians
Q Thinking about the issues affecting trust in politicians, which two or three of the following do you think have had the
most impact?
79
66
40
36
17
17
12
11
10
All MPs
% Top mentions

4
10
22
10
7
18
24
37
15
15
11
19
15
15
19
19
The media needs to stop
portraying politicans negatively
Restore trust on an individual
basis through constituency work
Represent the views of
constituents
Show integrity and be trustworthy
Media coverage of politics needs
to be more balanced and fair
Show that they share the
concerns of the public
Be more accessible
Be more honest/open with the
public
Honesty/openness/accessibility key themes for improving trust –
Conservatives also emphasise the media’s role
% Top mentions
Q What do you think Politicians in this country need to do to improve public trust in politics?
29
23
18
15
14
14
12
10
All MPs

They need to get out more,
they need to go and visit
organisations, talk to
ordinary people, listen to
what they have got to say,
bring those issues back to
parliament and also tell
them that we can't solve
everything and that some of
the issues in society are
down to individuals as well
as government
Labour MP
To act in good faith at all times and focus on the needs of
their constituents and be a good constituency MP
Conservative MP
Be honest with the
public, tell them
what they intend to
do and stick to it
Conservative MP
Seriously reform the parliamentary institutions and
to adopt a more puritanical lifestyle
Labour MP
Try to be honest, transparent and by that I mean using plain language as much as
possible, be as accessible as possible. Just try to be as open about what they are
doing and the reasons why they are doing it. As long as there's communication, I
have tended to find that if people don't agree with you, the fact that you are
prepared to argue your case in as honest and open a way as you possibly can,
using plain language, ensuring that you have listened to the points they have made,
that generally gets a good response
Liberal Democrat MP
Strategies for improving trust in politics
Q What do you think Politicians in this country need to do to improve public trust in politics?
We need to be more open about why we form policy and how we communicate it
with the public. We need to be braver when we are telling people about difficult
choices, we need to be more trusting of them to understand when there are tough
choices to be made and we should give them more credit that they are actually
able to work out for themselves, if we present the arguments we should be more
trusting of them to make a decision on what we are doing
Labour MP Source: Ipsos MORI MPs survey

10%
29%
24%
22%
29%
40%
40%
36%
52%
50%
52%
MPs mostly disagree that the public’s view of business is becoming
more negative
have lost the trust of
the general public
The public is
increasingly negative
about business

77%
84%
67%
33%
16%
59%
6%
3%
9%
43%
56%
27%
MPs are split on whether business doesn’t understand the public –
but much clearer that the public don’t understand business
In general, the public
have a poor
understanding of
business
In general, businesses
have a poor
understanding of the
general public’s concerns

10
10
6
36
39
25
25
55
52
12
16
24
4
12
40
48
32
44
Quality of products and services
The ongoing financial crisis
Globalisation
Employment practices percievd to be
unfair e.g. zero hour contracts
Excessive profits
Markets being dominated by a few, large
companies
Government bail-outs at the cost of the
tax payer
Corporate tax avoidence
Executive pay and bonuses
Executive pay seen as key influence on trust in business - with
Conservatives focusing on bailouts and Labour on tax avoidance
% Top mentions
Q Thinking about the issues that are affecting public trust in business, which two or three of the following do you think have had
the most impact?
48
42
35
33
24
20
14
13
11
All MPs

17
14
9
4
17
26
13
46
12
12
8
20
12
12
28
28
Communicate better with the public
Address negative media coverage
Give back to/engage with local
community
Look after customers
Limit/reduce high levels of executive pay
and bonuses
Pay a living wage
Look after employees
Be more honest and transparent
Honesty again key to trust in business – with treatment/ pay for staff
and executive pay/bonuses also important
% Top mentions
Q What do you think CEOs, and other senior executives, in this country need to do to improve public trust in business?
35
19
17
15
14
14
13
13
All MPs

How can CEOs improve public trust in business
Q What do you think CEOs, and other senior executives, in this country need to do to improve public trust in business?
Keep employing people and
treating their employees well.
The public and businesses are
not two separate entities
because the public work for
businesses, they have direct
experience of them. So keep
employing people and look
after them when they do
Conservative MP
Avoid scandals and avoid excessive remuneration and bad practices,
especially when they are employing people. Not rip their customers off
Conservative MP
Pay their fair share
of tax, they need to
make sure
companies are
registered in the
countries that they
operate from, they
need to make sure
their management
are visible and
accountable and as
much as possible
that their staff are
given an ability to
have a say in the
way the company is
run
Conservative MP
Be more open and transparent, be better
employers in terms of working conditions,
be more open about things like tax
avoidance
Labour MP
It is about maintaining good quality services and
products, and reliable customer service. That is what
drives consumers to have confidence in a brand,
whatever the product or service is, you want
something that is a quality product and you know you
have the follow on care with the company or
organisation if you have a problem
Liberal Democrat MP
Take less money, stop giving the
impression of being completely self-centered
and actually refer to the
national interest once in a while. Be a
little bit more modest in their ambitions, a
little bit more supportive of their staff and
the country
Labour MP

62
28
34
24
21
65
55
63
17
8
13
4
74
56
52
44
30
33
Your national government
Public sector healthcare
providers
Banks
Private healthcare providers
Telecommunications
companies
Credit card companies
% Trust at least a fair amount
Q: To what extent, if at all, do you personally trust the following to use information they have about you in the right way?
Government and public sector health organisations most trusted with
data. Conservative MPs have higher trust in private sector organisations (1)
Base MPs Question: All MPs (57), Conservative MPs (27) and Labour MPs (24),asked, Summer MPs 2014 Base General
Public Question: 1000 adults aged 16-64 in Great Britain
All MPs

20
8
4
0
14
9
5
5
0
26
15
11
4
0
Supermarkets
Insurance companies
Media companies
Social media websites
Foreign governments
Media and social media companies least trusted with our data – and
no MPs trust foreign governments with our data! (2)
Base MPs Question: All MPs (57), Conservative MPs (27) and Labour MPs (24),asked, Summer MPs 2014
Base General Public Question: 1000 adults aged 16-64 in Great Britain
All MPs
15

65
62
34
28
24
21
31
41
34
28
17
24
Your national government
Public sector healthcare
providers
Banks
Private healthcare providers
Telecommunications companies
Credit card companies
MPs British adults
Compared with the general public, MPs have greater trust in
government and the NHS, but very similar on private companies (1)
Base MPs Question: All MPs (57), asked, Summer MPs 2014 Base General Public Question: 1000
adults aged 16-64 in Great Britain

20
15
8
4
0
31
17
11
12
10
Supermarkets
Insurance companies
Media companies
Social media websites
Foreign governments
MPs British adults
MPs and the general public also have similar lack of trust in social
media, media and foreign governments (2)
Base MPs Question: All MPs (57), asked, Summer MPs 2014 Base General Public
Question: 1000 adults aged 16-64 in Great Britain

28
31
26
22
41
35
40
26
5
8
4
16
16
15
21
14
7
8
9
18
Agree much more with a than b Agree a little more with a than b
Agree equally with both Agree a little more with b than a
Agree much more with b than a
Q As you know, different government departments and services collect data about individuals, for example for tax
records and health records. People have different views on how much this information should be shared across
government and with others, such as academics or private companies. Overall, which of the two following statements
is closest to your view?
A) We should share all the data we can because it benefits the services and the public, as long as there are strict
controls on who can access the data and how it is used
B) We should not share data as the risks to people’s privacy and security outweigh the benefits
Base: All MPs (56), Conservative MPs (26) and Labour MPs (24),asked, Summer MPs 2014. UK General
Public aged 16-75, interviewed 23-25th June 2014. Base 505.
Agree more
with a than b
Agree more
with b than a
24%
23%
29%
MPs and general public have similar views on benefits/ risks of data
sharing – but more among general public are strongly against
69%
65%
67%
UK General Public 48% 32%

EU Membership
Britain’s future in the EU and whether the
terms of our membership should be
renegotiated

Q To what extent do you agree or disagree that the terms of Britain’s membership of the EU should be renegotiated?
All Conservative MPs think that terms of membership of EU should be
renegotiated – Labour MPs are split
74%
100%
49%
21%
42%

Freedom of movement is the key issue to be renegotiated with the EU,
but also legal and foreign policy and finances
25
17
18
42
13
31
41
56
Our financial contribution to the EU
Foreign policy
Regain control of our legislature and
judiciary
Freedom of movement across national
borders
Q What particular aspects of the terms of our membership of the EU do you think most need to be changed?
49
32
25
16
All MPs
% Top mentions

Q What particular aspects of the terms of our membership of the EU do you think most need to be changed?
There has to be a mechanism for re-engaging popular consent to Britain's
membership and if that means renegotiating some things and coming back and
having a referendum, the current relationship between Britain and the EU is not
sustainable. We either have to get out or get on with it, at the moment we are in
limbo and causing damage to the wider EU by our lack of clarity of where it is going
Liberal Democrat MP
I would like the UK to opt out of the unrestricted free movement of
people around the EU and have control over its borders again
Labour MP
The whole thing, everything. The freedom of movement, the ever closer union, the
Working Time Directive, the very large contributions we make and the whole set up
of the European parliament and the European Commission
Conservative MP
Our financial
contribution, control of
our borders, control of
our own laws and
generally reducing the
overall cost and
interference of the
European Union
Conservative MP
We have allowed the EU to take control of and
make decisions on far too many things that
should be left to our own government and own
parliament and they have gone way away from
what originally people voted for which was the
Common Market and that has to be changed
Labour MP
It continuously needs to be
reformed and changed. I am a
strong believer in Europe, I
believe we should stay in
Europe, but everything should
constantly be looked at and
changed. The issue of the
bureaucracy, many of the
opponents are right in what
they say about it being a
bureaucratic and an expensive
institution/organisation and
there also needs to be this
issue of subsidiarity, the level
at which decisions are made.
There should be a general
principle that decisions should
not be made at the European
level if it is more suitable for
them to be made at a lower
level
Liberal Democrat MP
What issues need to be renegotiated?

Majority of Conservative MPs think we should leave EU if terms not
renegotiated – majority of Labour MPs think there will be no referendum
83
12
12 6
27
61
50
16
34
If the terms are not
renegotiated, do you
think Britain should
remain a member of the
EU?
94
6
30
11
63 59 9
Do you think there will 28
be a referendum on
EU membership in
2017?
% Yes % No % Maybe

MPs split on how the public would vote – and parties have almost
exactly opposing views on outcome
22
22
53
3
60
25
9
6
38
25
33
How do you think a the 4
public will vote if a
referendum on EU
membership happens in
2017 and the terms of
the UK’s membership
have not changed?
% Vote
to Stay
% Vote to
leave
% Too close
to call
% Don’t
know

92%
100%
89%
90%
93%
89%
49%
33%
60%
5%
4%
6%
3%
8%
38%
50%
29%
Nearly all MPs see Britain as a force for good and punching above
weight – but split on whether power waning
Britain is a force for
good in international
politics
Britain punches
above its weight
when it comes to
international politics
Britain’s power and
influence in
international politics
is waning

Scottish
Referendum
The views of MPs on which way Scotland
will vote on 18th September

% Yes % No
Nearly all MPs thought that Scotland would vote to remain a part of
the UK
Q And do you think that Scotland will vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in the independence referendum in September?
4
96
4%
Yes
96%
No
100
5
95
Base: All MPs (81), Conservative MPs (35), Labour MPs (36), Liberal Democrat MPs (9*), English MPs (64),
Scottish MPs (8*) and Welsh MPs (7*) asked, Summer MPs 2014
3
97
12
88 100
* Caution – Low base size
11
89
English
MPs
Scottish
MPs
Welsh
MPs

Election 2015
Who will win the next election, and by what
margin?

0%
5% 5%
8% 8%
34%
21%
10%
34%
8%
16%
22%
10%
3%
0% 0% 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
0% 0% 0%
Clear partisan profile in likely outcome of General Election – overall MPs
split evenly between each party having majority and hung parliament
Q Which party do you think will win the next election, and with what majority?
Base: All MPs (80), Conservative MPs (33), Labour MPs (36), Liberal Democrat MPs (10*), asked, Summer MPs 2014
* Caution – Low base size
Hung Parliament
Conservatives
largest party
Conservative
majority of 1-10
Conservative
majority of 11-25
Conservative
majority of 26+
Hung Parliament
Labour largest
party
Labour majority
of 1-10
Labour majority
of 11-25
Labour majority
of 26+
Conservatives Labour Liberal Democrats
All MPs
32%
Labour
MPs 58%
Labour
Majority All MPs
33%
Conservative
MPs 66%
Conservative
Majority
All MPs
28%
Hung Parliament

Most MPs thought UKIP would have no seats after the next election –
but significant minority said 1-5
Q And how many MPs do you think UKIP will have after the next election?
Base: All MPs (83), Conservative MPs (34), Labour MPs (39), Liberal Democrat MPs (9*) asked, Summer MPs 2014
2%
6%
38%
38%
43%
11%
None 1-5 MPs 6 or more MPs
60%
57%
57%
89%
0%
0%

Most Impressive
MP
Who has been the most impressive MP over
the last 38 years?

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Base: Members of Parliament, 1981-2014
Most Impressive MP 1981-2014 – Among All MPs
John Biffen
Tony Banks
Robin Cook
Enoch Powell
Michael Heseltine
Tony Blair
Michael Howard
Q change from
backbencher to MP
Gordon Brown
William Hague
David Cameron
William Hague / Michael Gove
Theresa May
%
Ken Clarke
Ken Clarke
Robin Cook
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Gordon Brown
William Hague
William Hague
Tony Blair
David Cameron

FURTHER INFORMATION
For more information please contact:
Carl Phillips
e: carl.phillips@ipsos.com
Ipsos MORI
79-81 Borough Road
London
SE1 1FY
t: +44 (0)20 7347 3061
www.ipsos-mori.com
About Ipsos Reputation Centre
The Ipsos MORI Reputation Centre was established with a simple aim:
to help companies build more resilient reputations through stronger
relationships with the people who matter most to them. Our approach is
based on the understanding that research needs to be a catalyst for
positive change – providing clear and practical advice that feeds
directly into the stakeholder communications process.
The Key Influencer Tracking programme is a suite of multi-client
studies that examine the attitudes and opinions of a range of elite,
opinion forming stakeholder audiences. The first of these surveys was
set up nearly 40 years ago and the programme has gone from strength
to strength ever since. Further details can be found at www.ipsos-mori.
com/kit

The View from Westminster: Ipsos MORI MPs Survey 1978 - 2014

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The View from Westminster: Ipsos MORI MPs Survey 1978 - 2014