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New research reveals that Theresa May’s decision to call a snap election has the support of the over 50s*. With previous research suggesting that more than half of Labour voters prefer May to Corbyn** it shows that Labour has a mountain to climb.

Immediately following the announcement from the Prime Minister 4,862 over 50s were asked for their view on the decision to call a snap election. Almost six in 10 supported the early election (58%) with 22% remaining on the fence. In fact just 17% opposed the decision to hold an early general election.

Following the party conference season Populus found the new Premier was still maintaining a very high level of satisfaction amongst the Saga Populus panel - almost two-thirds said they were satisfied with the job Theresa May was doing overall as Prime Minister.

Satisfaction were unsurprisingly high among those who voted Conservative at the last general election with 86% saying they are satisfied compared to 24% of Labour voters.

But significantly, following his re-election Jeremy Corbyn was clearly failing in the challenge to win over those who were dissatisfied with the new Premier – overall 23% said they were dissatisfied with May’s first months in the role but would still choose her over the Labour leader to run the country.

In fact, of those who voted Labour in the last election, 24% thought that May was doing a good job. Amazingly 40% of those Labour voters who were dissatisfied with her performance still preferred May to Corbyn as Prime Minister.

Saga’s head of communications Lisa Harris said: “Whilst Saga is a strictly politically neutral organisation the Saga Generations themselves have strong political opinions.

“With a general election potentially taking place within weeks, these combined findings could be interesting reading for the main political parties as the over 50s make up the big battalion of voters who can influence the results in so many constituencies up and down the country.

“Despite the practical challenges posed by Brexit, our poll demonstrates that the Prime Minister is maintaining her high level of satisfaction among this influential group and she has their resounding support in calling a snap election.”

Satisfaction with the Prime Minister is very similar among men (64%) and women (66%) and ranges from 69% in the East Midlands to 51% in Scotland.

ENDS

Editors notes:

For further information please contact

Lisa Harris Head of Communications 01303 774716 Lisa.harris@saga.co.uk

Jessica Myers Press Officer 01303 776133 Jessica.myers@saga.co.uk

Populus interviewed 4,862 Saga respondents, all aged 50+ online between 18^th and 19^th April 2017. Populus is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules; for more information see www.populus.co.uk.

To what extent do you support or oppose Theresa May’s intention to call a general election on 8th June 2017?

Base	4862 respondents
Strongly support	34%
Somewhat support	24%
Neither support nor oppose	22%
Somewhat oppose	8%
Strongly oppose	9%
Don’t know	2%

Populus interviewed 9,560 Saga respondents, all aged 50+ online between 18 and 24 October 2016. Populus is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules; for more information see www.populus.co.uk.

	Conservative	Labour	UKIP	Lib Dem	Green	SNP	Plaid Cymru
I am satisfied with the job Theresa May is doing overall as Prime Minister	86%	24%	69%	50%	28%	23%	35%
I am dissatisfied with the job that Theresa May is doing overall as Prime Minister – BUT I’d still prefer to have her as Prime Minister than Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister	13%	31%	29%	39%	32%	36%	35%
I am dissatisfied with the job that Theresa May is doing overall as Prime Minister – and I’d prefer to have Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister instead	-	45%	2%	11%	41%	40%	30%