A quick read of the polls, and you would be forgiven for thinking we are a nation of lockdown-lovers, clamouring for stricter measures, eager to obey and accept any and all restrictions given to us.
An Ipsos-MORI poll over the weekend showed 45 per cent of the public think current measures are not strict enough, three times the amount who said they go too far. YouGov has shown majority support for a ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown. And a survey by J.L. Partners found that, although only one in four thought the wider public would follow a potential ban on household mixing, three in four said they personally would.
Focus groups — moderated conversations between a group of 8 to 10 people — often reinforce the polls. The latter is a way of digging deeper into the former, understanding why people answer polls in the way they do. But sometimes focus groups — of which I have run many in the last few weeks and months — unearth different perspectives.
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