Political Polling – 21st December
21st December 2012
UKIP show a slight rise in support from 14% to 15%.
- The proportion approving of David Cameron is unchanged at 32% while the proportion disapproving has risen 1 point to 52%. As a result David Cameron has seen a small drop in his net approval rating from -19% to -20%.
- Ed Miliband?s approval rating as Leader of the Labour Party remains unchanged at -16%. 41% disapprove of the way he is handling his job, while 25% approve, no change from the previous poll.
- Nick Clegg?s approval rating has fallen to -49%, largely due to the proportion of likely voters disapproving of the way he handles his job increasing from 59% to 63%.
This week we asked panelists about their predictions for their personal financial situation over the next 12 months. Respondents were asked, ?In the next 12 months, do you think your personal financial situation will get better or worse??.
- 42% of adults in Great Britain expect that their personal finances will get worse over the next 12 months, while 19% expect they will get better.
- Older people are most pessimistic about their financial future, with 53% of those aged 55 or over expecting their personal financial situation to get worse and just 9% expecting it to get better. Those aged 18 to 34 are more likely to be optimistic about their financial prospects, 37% expect their finances to improve over the next 12 months and 25% expect them to get worse.
- 48% of Labour voters expect their personal financial situation to get worse, compared to 34% of Liberal Democrat voters and 28% of Conservative voters. Conversely, 19% of Labour voters expect their personal finances to get better, compared to 21% of Liberal Democrat voters and 29% of Conservative voters.
Topline Voting Intention
| † | % | Change |
| Conservative | 29 | n/c |
| Labour | 39 | n/c |
| Liberal Democrats | 8 | n/c |
| Other parties | 24 | n/c |
Other Parties (breakdown)
| † | % | Change |
| UKIP | 15 | +1 |
| Green | 4 | n/c |
| SNP | 3 | n/c |
| BNP | 1 | -1 |
| Plaid Cymru | 0 | n/c |
| Other | 1 | +1 |
Approval ratings
| † | % Approve | % Disapprove | Net rating | Net rating (own party) |
| David Cameron | 32% | 52% | -20% | +78% |
| Ed Miliband | 25% | 41% | -16% | +43% |
| Nick Clegg | 14% | 63% | -49% | +32% |
Opinium Research carried out an online survey of 1,965 GB adults aged 18+ from 21st to 27th December 2012. Results have been weighted to nationally representative criteria.
Interview Method and Sample
This survey is conducted online by CAWI (computer aided web interviewing), using Opinium?s online research panel of circa 30,000 individuals. This research is run from a representative sample of GB adults (aged 18+ in England, Scotland and Wales). The sample is scientifically defined from pre-collected registration data containing gender, age (18-34, 35-54, and 55+), region (North East, North West, Yorkshire and Humberside, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East, South West, Wales, and Scotland), working status and social grade to match the latest published ONS figures.
Opinium also takes into account differential response rates from the different demographic groups, to ensure the sample is representative.