* Political * 1. Times Poll September 2000 37% say they would vote Labour if there were a general election tomorrow, with 35% saying they would vote Conservative and 21% for the Liberal Democrats. Labour's rating is down 14 points from last month whilst both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats are up 6 points. The NHS (as it has been for the past year) is still thought to be the most important issue facing Britain today, with 46% mentioning it. The next highest is petrol prices/fuel (mentioned by 31%), followed by education/schools (30%) and pensions/social security (23%). (The Times/MORI - The Times, 28 September 2000)
2. Tony in trouble with big business Big business is not impressed with Tony Blair's government. Two-thirds of business people said they would vote Conservative if there was a General Election tomorrow. Only 27% would vote Labour. (Burson-Marsteller/MORI, 26 September 2000)
3. Petrol prices and public services 40% of the public would prefer a £2.5bn increase in spending on public services such as health or education but 30% would prefer a 7p per gallon cut in the duty on petrol and diesel; 23% opted for raising the state pension by £5 a week, and only 5% for a 1p cut in the rate of income tax. (NOP - Channel 4 News, 23 September 2000)
4. Labour has not kept its pledges The British public think that the government has only managed to keep one out of five pledges promised on the cards that Labour distributed before the last election. More of the public think the government has not kept its promises for four of the five pledges than think it has. (Gallup - Daily Telegraph, 25 September 2000)
5. NHS worse under Labour Almost half the public, 45%, think that the National Health Service has deteriorated since the present government was elected, only 35% think it has improved. (NOP - Daily Express, 25 September 2000)
6. Consumer confidence falls during fuel crisis Consumer confidence dropped to its lowest level since December 1998 in the aftermath of the fuel crisis. The slump apparently began before the petrol crisis started, but worsened during the later part of the survey fieldwork. (Gfk - Financial Times, 29 September 2000)