Fifth of residents don't know who they will vote for
A new poll by a poverty action group suggests a fifth of people in Ealing don't know who they will vote for at the local elections.
London Child Poverty Alliance (LCPA) say 19% of residents in the borough are still undecided as to where to place their cross on May 22nd.
According to their survey the top three issues in the area are:
Difficulty finding affordable housing (85%)
Not being able to find jobs that fit with family life (79%)
Being paid low wages (76%)
According to LCPA, Ealing residents want the Council to take action on:
Improving the quality, stability and affordability of housing (94%)
Increasing wages in the borough (91%)
Increasing flexible working in the borough (86%)
Offering free school meals to all primary school children (85%)
Protecting the services provided by children’s centres (83%)
Protecting poorest residents from increases to council tax payments (83%)
Other areas that polled highly are increasing access to high quality, affordable childcare (81%) and subsidising childcare (79%).
The London Child Poverty Alliance says councillors and parties that address these issues will be better placed to win over the 21% of voters across London who say they are likely to vote but have not decided who they will support. Twice as many women as men are undecided on who to vote for.
Of those Ealing residents who are likely to vote, their aurvey suggests these results:
39% Labour
22% Conservative
9% Lib Dem
9% UKIP
19% Undecided
Mubin Haq, Director of Policy and Grants at Trust for London and member of the LCPA said:
“It’s shocking that in London - with all its wealth – more than a third of children still live in poverty. This poll shows that Ealing residents want change on the issues that push or keep families in poverty: unaffordable housing, low wages and lack of flexible working.
“We have used our knowledge of what works best across London to develop ten ways that councils can strengthen the local economy and help to reduce poverty.
“We hope that candidates in the upcoming local elections will respond to the views of those who live in Ealing and pledge to take action on these issues.”
Do you agree with their findings? What do you think are the main issues in Ealing? Discuss on the forum.
The poll was commissioned by the London Child Poverty. The poll was conducted by Survation between 7th and 12th February 2014 with 1541 respondents. Survation is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Full data tables and methodology can be found here: http://survation.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/London-Residents-Poll-Report.pdf
March 25th 2014
|