Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner. 

Main Topics:

Attitudinal/Behavioural Questions Vote in general election, other party thought of, vote in local elections, vote in October 1974, February 1974, and 1970. Direction and strength of party identification, level of negative identification. Marks out of ten for parties and leading politicians, open-ended likes and dislikes for Conservative, Labour and Liberal parties. Attention to media during the campaign, participation in the campaign, difference between political parties. Political knowledge measured through photography identification. Knowledge, perception of position/record on, and own opinion on: rising prices, strikes, unemployment, law and order, social services and benefits, level of taxation and government services, degree of nationalisation, best way of creating jobs, EEC economic policy, race relations and immigration, how wage levels should be established and laws to regulate activities of trade unions. Whether respondents thought the following had gone <i>too far</i>: welfare benefits, sex and race equality, pornography, teaching methods, abortion, military cuts, challenging authority. Whether respondents agree/disagree with suggestion that government should: put more cash in health service, establish comprehensives, repatriate immigrants, control land for building, give more foreign aid, bring back the death penalty, give workers more say, curb communists, get rid of poverty, redistribute wealth, preserve the countryside, give stiffer sentences to offenders, allow tenants to buy their council houses, expand the nuclear power industry, withdraw troops from Northern Ireland, reduce the power of the House of Lords. Two series of questions examine the extent of willingness to engage in various forms of political protest and forecasts about Britain's future. Amongst other issues measured were opinions on: devolution, the sex of political candidates, Britains economy in the last six months and in the next few years, income and prices, wage differentials, how good a job the trades unions were doing for their members and for the country as a whole. Respondents were also asked how powerful they thought the trade unions and big business were and how willing the Conservative and Labour parties were to listen to various interests within the economy. Background Variables Age, sex, marital status, number of children, Tenure and type of accommodation, area grew up in, length of residence in area. Income, whether respondent has: private telephone, automobile, private medical scheme, domestic help. Type of school attended, type of further education level of qualification gained. Trade union membership, religion, class identification, father and mother's vote. Employment status, occupation, socio-economic group and social grade for respondent, spouse and father. Whether self-employed, number of employees, sector of employment, size of establishment, degree of supervision for respondent and spouse.

Multi-stage stratified random sample

multi-stage, self-weighting, stratified, probability sample designed to represent the eligible British electorate on May 3rd 1979

Face-to-face interview