Israel/Gaza Poll November 2023

11 November 2023

Headlines

Pollster Find Out Now and election experts Electoral Calculus have run a poll on behalf of the Daily Telegraph on Israel/Gaza and public demonstrations. This poll, involving 2,001 respondents, was carried out on 9 November 2023.

• More of the public oppose rather than support pro-Palestine marches in Britain, but even more are neutral or uncertain.
• A majority are opposed to a pro-Palestine march in London on 11 November, Remembrance Day.
• Many more people think both party leaders, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, have handled the Israel/Gaza issue badly, than think they have handled it well.
• 46% of people think that Israel has the right to defend itself militarily, with 15% disagreeing, 16% neutral and 23% uncertain.

Questions

1. Marches in general

Firstly, we asked our panel "Do you generally support or oppose pro-Palestine marches in Britain?"

Response	All respondents
Strongly support	12%
Support	12%
Neither support nor oppse	25%
Oppose	13%
Strongly oppose	20%
Don't know	19%
Net Support	23%
Net Oppose	33%

(Excludes those who declined to answer.)

While 33% opposed, and 23% supported, 44% of people were either neutral or undecided.

2. London March on Remembrance Day

Next, we asked our panel "Do you think the planned pro-Palestine march in London this Saturday (Remembrance Day) should be allowed to go ahead or not?"

Response	All respondents	Aged 18-24	Aged 65+
Should be allowed	26%	43%	16%
Should not be allowed	52%	29%	71%
Don't know	22%	29%	13%

(Excludes those who declined to answer.)

Just over half of those who answered did not think the Saturday march in London should be allowed to go ahead. There was a clear difference by age, with young people net positive about it, and older people very much against.

3. Sunak performance

Next, we asked our panel "How well or badly do you think Rishi Sunak has handled the situation in Israel and Gaza?"

Response	All respondents	CON voters	LAB voters
Very well	2%	4%	1%
Quite well	7%	16%	2%
Neither well nor badly	25%	37%	16%
Quite badly	15%	11%	22%
Very badly	21%	9%	41%
Don't know	30%	22%	19%
Net well	9%	20%	3%
Net badly	36%	20%	63%

(Excludes those who declined to answer.)

More people think the Prime Minister has handled it badly than think he has handled it well. Among those who voted Conservative in 2019, opinion is balanced. Labour voters are strongly negative.

4. Starmer performance

Next, we asked our panel "How well or badly do you think Keir Starmer has handled the situation in Israel and Gaza?"

Response	All respondents	CON voters	LAB voters
Very well	1%	1%	3%
Quite well	5%	6%	6%
Neither well nor badly	23%	28%	24%
Quite badly	17%	19%	18%
Very badly	21%	24%	25%
Don't know	33%	22%	24%
Net well	6%	7%	8%
Net badly	38%	43%	43%

(Excludes those who declined to answer.)

Keir Starmer's performance is also not appreciated by the public. In his case, both Conservative and Labour voters are united in thinking that he has handled it badly.

5. Israel's right to defence

Finally, we asked our panel "Do you agree or disagree that Israel has the right to defend itself with military actions in Gaza?"

Response	All respondents	Aged 18-24	Aged 65+
Agree strongly	18%	10%	32%
Agree	29%	16%	40%
Neither agree nor disagree	16%	18%	13%
Disagree	8%	12%	6%
Disagree strongly	7%	16%	2%
Don't know	23%	29%	7%
Net agree	46%	25%	72%
Net disagree	15%	28%	8%

(Excludes those who declined to answer.)

Forty-six per cent of people agree that Israel has the right of self-defence, with only 15% disagreeing. Thirty-nine per cent were neutral or undecided. But among younger voters, the question was finely balanced with both sides almost equal. Among older voters, there was a very strong majority for supporting Israel.

Quotes

Martin Baxter, CEO of Electoral Calculus: "The poll shows the public is not supportive of the pro-Palestine march in London on Saturday. People are also fairly supportive of the Israel's right to self-defence, which is the policy of both Conservative and Labour parties. Despite that, the public also think both party leaders have handled the situation poorly. Keir Starmer might be concerned that even Labour voters think he has done a bad job."

Technical Details

Find Out Now polled 2,001 GB adults online on 9 November 2023. The sample was weighted to be representative by gender, age, social grade, other demographics and past voting patterns. Find Out Now and Electoral Calculus are both members of the British Polling Council and abide by its rules.

Data tables are available here.