After such an extraordinary year, political intelligence specialist Dods has run an opinion poll among 279 members of the UK, Scottish and European parliaments, to obtain their views on how the UK governments and the EU have fared in tackling the coronavirus crisis, looking at the performance of policymakers, political leaders and healthcare systems, as well as their preparedness for further waves of the virus.
The full report is available for download here.
Headline stats show that 62% of UK Members of Parliament say they are dissatisfied with the government’s COVID-19 response, with only 9% satisfied. UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has received a majority bad performance verdict and has not impressed respondents during the pandemic – both from within the UK and in Europe. Two thirds of MPs (66%) believe he’s handled the situation badly; this, despite winning a large majority in the House of Commons in December 2019.
To the north in Scotland, however, the assessment of government seems more optimistic. A majority (58%) of Members of the Scottish Parliament say they’re satisfied with the government’s handling of the crisis. Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, seems to be hitting the right notes, with both UK MPs (58%) and MSPs (67%) impressed by her performance during the COVID-19 crisis, followed by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak and then Labour Party Leader, Keir Starmer.
A larger percentage of MEPs are satisfied (39%) with the European Union’s handing of COVID-19, compared to 27% who are not and the majority agree the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen has handled the pandemic well (51%), although fewer say the same for EU Parliament President, David Sassoli (43%).
Against the backdrop of a possible winter recession the general consensus in both the European Union and Scotland is that economic recovery will take up to five years, with 47% of MEPs and 58% of MSPs agreeing to that respectively. In the UK government, however, 36% of MPs predict that the UK’s overall economy will take more than five years to bounce back.
Dods respondent insights show that jobs are at the epicentre of all recovery strategies, however,a lion’s share of MPs (65%) and MEPs (52%) do not think their respective leaderships are doing enough to support SMEs through the COVID-19 crisis. In contrast, the majority of Scottish Members of Parliament (51%) believe their government is bolstering SMEs well.
MPs have put the environment as a priority second only to job. This has been echoed in the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s recent ten-point plan for a ‘green industrial revolution’, that mobilises £12 billion of government investment to create and support up to 250,000 ‘green jobs’. MPs, MSPs and MEPs are on the same page when it comes to the need for their respective leaderships to invest in finding alternative solutions to combat plastic pollution (MPs: 77% agree MSPs: 88% agree, MEPs: 90% agree).
Technology is seen as increasingly crucial. 81% of MPs, 71% of MSPs and 76% of MEPs agree that their respective leaderships should be doing more to ensure digital technology is accessible to everyone. Another important consideration for respondents, however, is implementing a review of existing cybersecurity legislation. In a similar vein, sentiments are aligned regarding 5G technology not being entrusted to companies headquartered overseas (MPs: 61% / MSPs: 51%/ MEPS: 62%).
