This project, led by MEI Deputy Director Dr Karl Pike, examines the views of the British public on what rebuilding after the pandemic might mean. It offers some preliminary indications of what policy areas the public want to prioritise, and how the machinery of government has managed and performed during this crisis.
The first report from the Not for Patching? Project is written by Karl Pike, Farah Hussain, Philip Cowley and Patrick Diamond.
Not For Patching? Report [PDF 459KB]
Not For Patching? Polling Tables [PDF 848KB]
A team at QMUL commissioned Ipsos MORI to survey the views of the British public. The first report from this project – Not for Patching? – includes the following findings:
Ipsos MORI surveyed 1,120 adults across Great Britain, posing questions across a range of policy areas. Fieldwork was carried out online from 19 March 2021 to 22 March 2021, and data weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error, but they still give us an insight into the public’s priorities. Further analysis of this data, and further surveys, will continue to add to the Mile End Institute’s Not for Patching? project.
The public’s top three priorities – NHS, jobs and mental health – are all backed up by evidence and warnings from experts about the need for funding and new policy ideas. We also see a focus on mental health and wellbeing among the public’s priorities for young people – which topped the list when we asked specifically about schools. — Dr Karl Pike, Deputy Director, Mile End Institute
— Dr Karl Pike, Deputy Director, Mile End Institute
Our report highlights a profound dilemma for Keir Starmer. Opinion is deeply divided on whether he has achieved the right balance of criticising the government too much, or not enough during the pandemic. — Farah Hussain, PhD Researcher and Teaching Associate, QMUL
— Farah Hussain, PhD Researcher and Teaching Associate, QMUL
This new study confirms the positive ratings the public has given to the government’s vaccine programme and furlough schemes to deal with the pandemic, even if they are not so uniformly happy about all other aspects of its response. But with signs of some cautious optimism returning, thinking about the recovery period is going to be a priority. Dealing with inequalities and climate change, creating jobs, and improving public services are all important to Britons – as well as support for the damage the pandemic has done to people’s wellbeing – and many accept these will need government action and spending to achieve them. — Gideon Skinner, Head of Political Research, Ipsos MORI
— Gideon Skinner, Head of Political Research, Ipsos MORI