|  | | Tuesday, 15 September | | | Public oppose state funding of political parties | | | | With William Hague writing in The Times today that state funding for political parties might be the only alternative to mega-donors – unless everyday people start joining or donating to parties en masse once more – our survey shows that giving parties taxpayer money is unpalatable to the public | |
| | 55% of Britons say they would be opposed to state funding for political parties, with 36% “strongly” opposed | |
| | Only 17% would be in favour | |
| | There is opposition across the political spectrum, ranging from 50% of Labour voters to 64% of Tory voters | |
| | | | | | | | A recent study has shown that regular reading of any kind has significant health benefits for readers | |
| | But do the British public see reading as a universal good, or do they think it only applies if people are reading high quality writing? | |
| | The public overwhelmingly come down on the side of the former, with 81% saying “reading is good for people, no matter what they are reading”, compared to only 10% who say “reading is only good for people if they are reading writing of a high enough quality” | |
| | The younger people are, the more likely they are to think that it matters what people are reading: 23% of 18-24 year olds say so, compared to only 6% of the over-65s | |
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