Support for P.M. slips slightly

Press, 9 May 1984, Page 6

Support for P.M. slips slightly

Support for the leaders of the three main political parties remains fairly stable in the expression of voters’ preferences for Prime Minister. The Prime Minister, Sir Robert Muldoon, is still the most populttr choice, although his support has slipped one percentage point to 25 per cent The leader of the Parliamentary Labour Party, Mr Lange, has gained a percentage point in the leadership popularity stakes. He has 13 per cent of the vote for the leadership according to preferences expressed in the latest NewZealand Herald”-National Research Bureau survey. The leader of the New Zealand Party, Mr Bob Jones, has slipped in the poll standings to 7 per cent support, from 9 per cent The Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Mr Palmer, is the voters’ next most popular choice as Prime Minister.

Among all the others, a 1 per cent popularity level was recorded by the »< Transport Mr Gain a national backbencher, Mr Michael Minogue; the Labour member for Lyttelton, Mrs Ann Hercus; the retired Labour leader, Sir Wallace Rowling; the president of the Labour Party, Mr J. P.

only one point behind Mr Jones with 6 per cent Mr Palmer has enjoj-ed a steady rise in popularity since December. The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr McLay, has also attracted greater voter attention as a possible Prime Minister since his election as Sir Robert’s deputy. His support has risen to 4 per cent in the latest survey of opinion on the leadership, from a steady 1 per cent level of support in the last two years. The survey covered 2000 eligible voters selected by random probability methods from 20 main population centres throughout New Zealand. It was conducted between April 14 and 18. People were asked; “If you were able to vote for any politician in New Zealand to be Prime Minister, for whom would you vote?” Results, compared with those in earlier polls, were;

Anderton; and the Minister of Labour, Mr Bolger. . S La nge - S appeal is fairly steady across all age groups. Mr Jones continues to win most of his support from those in younger age groups.

The degree of support Mr Jones receives from male voters is rather greater than that he receives from women. None of the other party leaders attract such differences in support between men and women. Sex of Voter Female Male

Copyright 1984 — “New Zealand Herald.” Tomorrow: Voters assess New Zealand’s top 10 problems.

Apr. ’84 % Feb. Dec. Sept. July May ’83 % Apr. Nov. May Feb. ’82 % Nov. ’81 % ’84 % ’83 % ’83 % ’83 % ’83 % ’82 % ’82 % Sir Robert Muldoon 25 26 25 27 27 26 25 26 27 23 30 Mr Lange 13 12 14 18 22 24 28 16 9 5 6 Mr Jones 7 9 12 4 — — — — — — — Mr Palmer 6 5 2 2 2 3 2 — — — — Mr Quigley 5 5 4 5 5 4 3 5 1 — — Mr McLay 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 — 1 1 — Mr Beetham 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 9 9 13 13 All Others 8 9 10 9 12 10 11 21 27 31 25 Do Not Know 23 24 22 25 22 22 20 18 20 21 20 None 7 8 8 7 6 7 / 5 7 7 6

1824 % Voter Age Group 2534 % 3544 4554 % 55+ % Sir Robert Muldoon 18 19 24 31 32 Mr Lange 14 14 13 11 12 Mr Jones 12 10 7 4 2 Mr Beetham 4 3 2 1 2

% % Sir Robert Muldoon 24 26 Mr Lange 13 13 Mr Jones 4 9 Mr Beetham 2 2