Polling on the Question of an English Parliament.
Except where indicated these polls were undertaken throughout the UK. A fairer contrast with the questions asked in the devolution referenda would be to poll in England only and pose the alternatives “I agree that there should be an English Parliament” or “I do not agree that there should be an English Parliament” (Http://www.bbc.co.uk/politics97/devolution/wales/live/index.shtml)
NB 44% of Scots voted for the Scottish Parliament (“the settled will of the Scottish people”) and
25% of the Welsh voted for a Welsh Assembly in answer to the equivalent question in their referenda
Conservative home 2011
51% wanted an English Parliament
September 2009: YouGov for the The Jury Team
An England only poll on the proposal to set up an English Parliament to decide matters that relate solely to England the reponses were:
| Yes | 58% |
| No | 20% |
| Would not vote | 8% |
| Don’t know | 14% |
ICM for the Telegraph | December 2007
By telephone: Base adults over 18: 1010 UK 867 England
| WHICH WOULD YOU PREFER FOR ENGLAND? | UK | England |
| Laws made by the Commons with all MPs voting |
32% |
32% |
| Laws made by the Commons but only English MPs voting |
24% |
25% |
| English Parliament within the Union |
21% |
20% |
| Independence from Scotland and Wales |
16% |
15% |
Comment: 60% of UK and English citizens polled are dissatisfied with the current situation
Sky News online poll | December 2007
Base: 4,316 GB respondents (self selecting)
Should Scottish MPs get a vote on English matters?
| Yes | 15% |
| No | 85% |
ICM for the Campaign for an English Parliament | April 2007
Base: 1006 GB adults
You may have seen or heard that a separate Scottish parliament, a Welsh assembly and a Northern Ireland Assembly have been established.
Do you think that England should or should not have its own parliament or assembly?
| For an English Parliament | 67% |
| Against an English Parliament | 25% |
| Don’t Know | 7% |
YouGov for the Sunday Times | April 2007
Base: 2218 GB adults
Thinking about the way England is governed in the light of devolution to
Scotland and Wales, which of the following would be your preferred option:
| A separate English parliament with similar powers to the Scottish Parliament | 21% |
| Stopping MPs from Scottish and Welsh seats from voting on matters that affect | |
| Only England | 51% |
| Keeping the current arrangements as they are | 12% |
| None of the above | 4% |
| Don’t know | 12% |
Comment: 72-74% of UK citizens polled dissatisfied with the current situation
Newsnight Poll | January 2007
Base: 883 in England
SHOULD ENGLAND HAVE ITS OWN PARLIAMENT?
In 1998 the creation of a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly gave these countries certain powers that were previously held by the UK parliament in Westminster. Do you think that an English Parliament should now be established?
|
yes |
no | undecided/neutral | |
| England |
61% |
32% |
7% |
| Scotland |
51% |
35% |
13% |
|
Wales |
48% | 40% |
11% |
Daily Mail / ICM Poll | January 2007
Base: 883 polled in England
Q5. There is now a Scottish Parliament and a devolved Assembly in Wales and Northern Ireland. Do you think there should or shouldn’t be a parliament for England only?
|
should |
should not | don’t know | |
| England |
51% |
41% |
7% |
|
Scotland |
58% | 30% |
12% |
ICM for the Sunday Telegraph | November 2006
Base 869 in England
- Would you be in favour or against the establishment of an English Parliament within the UK, with similar powers to those currently enjoyed by the Scottish Parliament?
| For an English Parliament | 68% |
| Against an English Parliament | 25% |
| Don’t Know | 6% |
British Social Attitudes Survey, 2006 (http://nesstar.esds.ac.uk)
Base: 1077 in GB
With all the changes going on in the way the different parts of Great Britain are run, which of the following do you think would be best for England… for England to be governed as it is now, with laws made by the UK parliament, for each region of England to have its own elected assembly that makes decisions about the region’s economy, planning and housing, or, for England as a whole to have its own new parliament with lawmaking powers?
| UK parliament as now | 558 | 51.8% |
| Regional assembly | 189 | 17.5% |
| New parliament for England | 249 | 23.1% |
| (None of these) | 38 | 3.5% |
| Don’t know | 43 | 4.0% |
| Not answered | 0 | 0.0% |
23% in the UK voted for an English Parliament (figures for England not found) more than for regional devolution
NB National devolution was granted to Wales on the basis of 25% of the electorate voting for a Welsh national assembly
IPSOS MORI for the English Constitutional Convention | June 2006
Base: not found
With all the constitutional changes going on in the way different parts of the UK are run, which are creating national Parliaments for Scotland and Wales, which of the following do you think would be best for England for England?
| To be governed as it is now, with laws made by the UK Parliament even though this means that Scottish and Welsh MPs can vote on English-only issues | 32% |
| For England to be divided into Regions with each having its own Assembly | 14% |
| For England as a whole to have its own national Parliament with similar law-making powers to the | |
| Scottish Parliament | 41% |
| Don’t know | 13% |
BBC Online Vote | March 2006
3401 UK (self selecting)
| Should there be an English Parliament? | |
| Yes | 76.51% |
| No | 23.49% |
YouGov for the English Democrats | Feb 2004
Base: 2364 GB adults
| Which of the following options do you prefer? | |
| The division of England into nine Regions, each having their own elected assemblies, which will have power to take some decisions but not to create new laws | 11 % |
| A Parliament for England with the power to allow it to develop and implement policies which reflect the particular needs of the people of England | 24 % |
| Scottish and Welsh members of the UK Parliament having their voting rights restricted to prevent them from voting on England-only issues | 47 % |
| Continue with the status quo | 12 % |
| Don’t know | 7 % |
Comment: 71% want a national solution. Fewer want regional assemblies than the status quo
NOP for the Campaign for an English Parliament, April 2002
Base: UK 999 adults aged 15+
- At the moment, as well as the Parliament at Westminster, Scotland has its own Parliament, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own Assemblies. England, however, does not have either. It has been suggested that England should have either its own Parliament, along with the Westminster Parliament, or have nine English Regional Assemblies. Which of these statements, if any, best sums up your opinion about this?
| England should have its own English Parliament | 47% |
| England should be made up of nine Regional Assemblies | 28% |
| Don’t know | 25% |
2002 The Jimmy Young show (St George’s day) telephone poll of 14,556 people showed 94% in favour
2001 – UK Government MORI (http://nesstar.esds.ac.uk)
Base: 1761 correspondents in UK
With all the changes going on in the way the different parts of Great Britain are run, which of the following do you think would be best for England… for England to be governed as it is now, with laws made by the UK parliament, for each region of England to have its own assembly that runs services like health, or, for England as a whole to have its own new parliament with law-making powers?
| as it is now | 1569 | 56.8% |
| regional assemblies | 611 | 22.1% |
| England its own parliament | 443 | 16.0% |
| (None of these) | 35 | 1.3% |
| Don’t know | 103 | 3.7% |
| Not Answered | 0 | 0.0% |
23% in England voted for an English Parliament (16% in UK)
NB National devolution was granted to Wales on the basis of 25% of the electorate voting for a Welsh national assembly
British Social Attitudes Survey
The British Social Attitudes surveys have, since 1999, shown a trend for the people in England surveyed to move towards a desire for an English Parliament. Table taken from “Is an English Backlash emerging?” John Curtice; Institute of Public Policy Research 2010.
Constitutional preferences for England, 1999–2009
With all the changes going on in the way different parts of Great Britain are run, which of the following do you think would be best for England?
| Year | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| England governed as it is now, with laws made by The UK parliament | 62 | 54 | 57 | 56 | 50 | 53 | 54 | 54 | 57 | 51 | 49 |
| Each region of England to have its own assembly that Runs services like health* | 15 | 28 | 32 | 20 | 26 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 15 |
| England as whole to have its own new parliament with law making powers | 18 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 21 | 18 | 21 | 17 | 26 | 29 |
| Base: Respondents living in England | 2718 | 1928 | 2761 | 2897 | 3709 | 2684 | 1794 | 928 | 859 | 982 | 980 |
*In 2004–6 the second option read ‘that makes decisions about the region’s economy, planning and housing’. The 2003 survey carried both versions of this option and demonstrated that the difference of wording did not make a material difference to the pattern of response. The figures quoted for 2003 are those for the two versions combined.