Conservative politicians are right to be worried about the effect of policy on politics in parts of the Home Counties, according to new research produced by the YouGov-Cambridge Centre and the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at Cambridge University.
Key findings include:
- Levelling up is a popular idea in the abstract, with two-thirds of English people saying it should be a high or medium priority for government. But there is a widespread sense of scepticism about what it will achieve in practice. There is also clear regional variation in attitudes towards levelling up, with those living in the North and Midlands noticeably more likely to feel enthusiastic about this programme than those living in London and the South East.
- At the time the fieldwork was undertaken (May 2021) a plurality (46%) of English people thought leaving the EU was the right decision in hindsight, compared to 39% who felt it was a mistake.
- The abiding attitude towards the future of the UK union among people in England appears to be indifference: Only 4% of respondents listed Scottish independence as one of the four main issues facing the country at present and a large minority (26%) are yet to decide whether or not they support independence for Scotland. 27% of people said they do support Scottish independence as opposed to 48% who oppose it.
See full publication of the research here.
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