5th Maxi Poll (November 2008) – Motors

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4th Maxi Poll (October 2008) – Credit Crunch

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3rd Maxi Poll (August 2008) – Travel

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2nd Maxi Poll (May 2008) – Communications

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1st Maxi Poll (March 2008) – Fashion and News

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5th Maxi Poll (November 2007) - Entertainment

5th Maxi Poll (November 2007) - Entertainment

Your view The jury is in, and it appears that the London Voice panel is almost split into two when it comes to the hearing into the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes. 48% of panellists agreed that Sir Ian Blair should resign over the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes against 43% disagreeing. Blair’s reputation seems to be on the line at the moment with 43% of you agreeing that he’s doing a good job tackling the terrorist threat faced by London, but only 25% of you believe that he has succeeded in cutting crime and making London a safer place to live. In addition, 32% felt that he is making progress in improving ethnic minority representation within the Met and tackling racism in general.

Your London Which aspects of living in London appeals most? According to your answers it’s all about the leisure options, with the following making up the top 5: 47% - Restaurants/food 43% - Museums/Galleries/Exhibitions 42% - Art & Entertainment 33% - London’s heritage 27% - The parks It comes as no surprise then that these activities also top the list when it comes to filling you leisure time. More than a third of you make sure you get to the pub and eat out at least once a week. Of course a balanced life doesn’t simply consist of eating and drinking and London Voice panellists also make sure that they get to galleries, museums or exhibitions on a regular basis. London Voice panellists are also clearly the leaders of the pack, with 79% of you reporting that you are personally responsible for making the arrangements when you go out. Going to the cinema, comedy shows and exhibitions, museums or galleries are your favourite spur of the moment activities with theatre attendances planned roughly a month in advance and other performing art or music shows planned more than two months in advance. When it comes to the cinema Britannia most definitely rules. 84% of panellists stated that they enjoy British films. Adding to your credentials as cinema connoisseurs is the fact that more than half of panellists reported enjoying art house or independent movies.

4th Maxi Poll (September 2007) - Interiors

4th Maxi Poll (September 2007) - Interiors

Your view It would appear that London Voice panellists have some mixed feelings towards Mayoral candidate Boris Johnson. 40% of you believe that Johnson understands the needs of ordinary Londoners versus 42% of you who believe he doesn’t. Whether or not Johnson would make a good ambassador for London on the world stage solicited a pretty similar response with 42% of you agreeing he would be a good ambassador against 44% disagreeing. The quality of skills you associate with Johnson paints a slightly different picture though. Listed below are the qualities you associate with Johnson: 45% - Telling jokes 9%   - Running a major organisation 5%   - Being “deadly serious” 4%   - Tackling crime 36% - None of the above Only a third of you believed that he would make a good leader in the event of a 7/7 type tragedy or that London’s transport system would improve under his leadership.

Your Home 73% of panellists own their homes. 6 in 10 of you live in houses with the remainder living in flats, maisonettes or bedsits. 9 in 10 agree that your home is a haven from the outside world and that you choose décor to please yourself rather than to impress others. The majority describe the way your home is decorated as a mix of modern and classic, traditional, eclectic or modern. Some of you expressed a desire to have your home look less traditional and more minimalist. 33% are planning to do some renovations, and you are most likely to remodel existing space or add/remodel a loft. 7 in 10 of you are also planning home improvements during the next two years. The most popular improvements include buying accessories and soft furnishings for your home, painting or wall papering, replacing curtains, changing light fittings, carpeting and creating cupboards or shelving

3rd Maxi Poll (August 2007) - Food

3rd Maxi Poll (August 2007) - Food

Your view Greener living The environment is a hot topic at the moment and, as we suspected, London Voice panellists are putting action to words in this particular area. 4 in 5 of you have made changes to your lifestyle to cut down on your carbon footprint. 1 in 5 agreed that you are doing all you can and 3 out of 5 of you believe you could do even more. Only 19% of you reported that your council is doing as much as they can to help you recycle. 43% of you stated that your council is helping you to recycle but could be doing more and 37% said that their council is simply not doing enough. Terrorist threat We were recently reminded of the tragic events of 7/7 with a new terrorist threat in recent weeks. In view of this we asked you some questions about detaining terror suspects. At 57%, the majority of London Voice panellists felt that terror suspects should be detained without charge for longer than 28 days. 30% answered no to this question and 13% said that they did not know whether terror suspects should be detained for longer than 28 days. Two wheels With increased crowding on public transport and congestion on the roads many Londoners are turning to two wheel modes of transport to get around the city. When asked whether you think motorcyclists should be allowed to use all bus lanes in London, 50% of you replied that they should be allowed to do so, and 42% of you stated that this should not be allowed. 92% of you also felt that cyclists should under no circumstances be allowed to go through red traffic lights.

Food for thought From the results from our food survey it becomes clear that London Voice members are rather passionate about food. Two thirds of you claim to be good cooks and you enjoy experimenting in the kitchen. Ethical shoppers London Voice members have very high expectations of supermarkets. You expect supermarkets to not only treat their suppliers well, but expect them to only support suppliers using humane production practices and ensure that they minimise damage to the environment during the production process. Quality products for quality people 76% of you stated that you often treat yourself to the best quality products available and 71% of you said that you choose premium quality over basic products. Most of you make a list of the things you need, but only 11% adhere strictly to a budget. Grocery expenditure 76% of you still do major grocery shops. On average you do 3.29 shops per month and spend approximately £256/month. 94% do top up grocery shops. On average you do 2.32 top up shops a week and during the course of a month will spend £142 on top-up shops. Online shopping Some panellists have taken to online shopping like a fish to water, with 1 in 10 shopping online rather than in-store. For most though, you still have some concerns about online grocery shopping. 73% are hesitant to buy fresh produce and meat products online because you prefer to see these products first. 51% of you are also worried that you won’t always get everything you ordered when you shop online.

2nd Maxi Poll (June 2007) - Motivations

2nd Maxi Poll (June 2007) - Motivations

Your view Gordon Brown We asked you to tell us whether you are more or less likely to vote for New Labour under Gordon Brown than Tony Blair. Well it seems that your answers largely depended on the political party you currently support. Amongst existing labour supporters 5% indicated that they are now less likely to vote Labour while 12% of Conservative supporters reported being more likely to now vote Labour. When asked what you think Gordon Browns top priorities for London should be you raised the following as your top 5. 38% Improve/reduce cost of Public Transport 15% Reduce the level of crime 13% Improve housing availability/cost 8% Improve the health service 8% Reduce the tax burden on London/stop subsidising the north Cycling Those of you who cycle to work still make up a small minority of all readers, but it seems that a large number of you realise the value of having more people cycle in the capital and show an empathy towards cyclists. Half of you agreed that there should be more prosecutions of motorists who stop in cyclists' advance stop boxes. Just over a third of you also stated that you would be more inclined to cycle to work if cycling lanes were improved and made safer. London Beach Summer is finally here (even though the weather itself seems to be mildly unaware of this fact) and its time to start enjoying outdoor life again. Half of you would support a London Beach being built this year, similar to the one in Paris. Seating on trains When asked whether you would be willing to pay more for your train ticket if you were guaranteed a seat, 75% of you said no with only 18% willing to spend even more on their travel bill to ensure they get a seat. Your London In recent months we've asked you a number of questions in regards to how you feel about living in London. Your opinions have not only helped the Evening Standard gain a better insight into how you view the capital but have also influenced a number of debates hosted by the Architecture Foundation on the future of London. For results from this particular poll, please refer to the press clippings page for the article which appeared in the Evening Standard. Some of the highlights from an earlier poll on London include: Future of London 60% of you are positive about the future of London, whilst 1 in 4 expressed some negative feelings about the future of London. In addition 3 out of 4 of you felt that the Evening Standard was presenting London in a positive way. Support for the Mayor We found that our readers are pretty much polarised on the mayor of London with 42% of you being supporters of the mayor and 52% show no level of support for him. Approximately 1 in 6 of you also felt that the Evening Standard was unfairly critical towards the mayor.

Orchids & Onions Orchid This month London was the hands down Orchid winner with 47% of the votes. London was nominated because it boasts 6 of the best restaurants in the world. 21% of you voted for Gordon Brown as the Orchid winner because he pledged an end to spin, arrogance and the cult of celebrity once he takes over from Tony Blair. At the bottom end of the list was Kate Moss and her designer collection barely scraping together 3% of the vote. Your own nominees accounted for 12% of the votes and as before your nominees comprised a number of London's unsung heroes who've made a difference in your lives. Some of the more public figures nominated include: Anthony Gormley: the artists who placed his statues all over London Ken Livingstone: for a variety of reasons Lily Allen: for being a role model Tony Blair: for leaving office The McCann family (the London Voice team did contemplate nominating the McCann family, but felt it would have been inappropriate bearing the light hearted nature of the Orchid & Onion Awards in mind) Onion It was a close race for this month's Onion winner, but in the end Justice Minister Lord Falconer won with 32% of the votes for his call to be more lenient on the treatment of burglars. Sainsbury's was in second place with 30% of the votes for having their "I'm not a plastic bag" made in China using cheap labour. 13% of you chose your own nominees. As always the London Voice team really enjoyed reading your candid comments on the things that get your backs up. Some of the most frequently mentioned nominees included: Tony Blair: for his leaving speech and for not admitting that the war in Iraq was a mistake Kate Moss: mainly her clothing range but also for being a bad role model Ken Livingstone: various reasons Gordon Brown: various reasons

1st Maxi Poll (May 2007) – Finance

1st Maxi Poll (May 2007) – Finance

Your view Skyscrapers in London The majority of London Voice members would like to see the Capital's skyline remain unchanged with 60% opposing having more skyscrapers in Central London, the City and the area around Buckingham palace against 32% who supported more skyscrapers being built. Political party funding When asked whether political parties should receive more state funding to cut their reliance on big donors 28% of you said yes whilst 60% said no. Trident nuclear deterrent You were a little bit more divided on the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent with 42% of you supporting it and 40% opposing the renewal of the project. At 18%, almost 1 in 5 of you didn't have an opinion on the matter. Anti-social behaviour More than two thirds of you believe that during the past year anti-social behaviour by young people has increased on public transport. Only 1% felt that anti-social behaviour had decreased and 23% felt that it has remained at the same level. Orchid & Onion Awards With more than 51% of the votes Dame Helen Mirren was your clear favourite for the first Orchid Award. She was of course nominated for winning an Oscar for her role in the feature film The Queen. About 1 in 10 of you nominated your own candidate for the Orchid award, and used the opportunity to tell the London Voice team about unsung heroes you know. Thanks to an ever spiralling budget for the Olympic Games, Tessa Jowell was voted the winner of the Onion award. Jowell received 39% of the votes, only four percentage points ahead of Mayor Ken Livingstone who was nominated for extending the congestion charge zone. One or two of our London Voice members reported that they didn't particularly enjoy the Orchid and Onion question, so in future we will give you the opportunity to opt out of this question if you wish. If you enjoyed the questions, keep those answers (and your own nominations coming, we do read every word and always appreciate your candid answers!

Your Finances In control Judging from the answers to the finance section of the first maxi poll it becomes quite clear that most London Voice members take their personal finances very seriously. A third of you stated that your finances are completely up to date and that you are in control of them. An additional 41% said that you are just about in control but that you could do better and 15% said that you are in the process of sorting your finances out. Only 9% admitted that their finances are a right mess at the moment. Confusion reigns Most of you agree that when it comes to personal finance, choosing new products or services can be a daunting task because you never quite know what you're getting into. Half of you admitted that you are not confident about what you're buying when purchasing new financial products. One of the main problems you face is that with the overwhelming amount of choice available it's difficult to compare the benefits of different products or to know if you are actually getting a good deal. This probably has a lot to do with the way information on financial products are presented, with 89% agreeing that there is simply too much jargon involved with these type of products. Savings culture Despite the confusion surrounding selecting new products most of you are making work of building up a nest egg. Apart from personal or private pensions the most popular investment vehicles you use include: 84% Savings/deposit account 49% ISA 43% Premium bond 38% Stocks or shares 10% Unit trusts Most of you tend to be quite sensible when it comes to investing, realising that higher returns normally come with higher risk. That said 28% of you are willing to take on the risk for higher returns. Banks We asked you to tell us which bank your main current account was with. Below are the top 10 banks you use: 17% Natwest 15% Barclays 14% HSBC 14% Loyds TSB 7% First Direct 7% Abbey National 5% Halifax 5% Nationwide 4% RBS 3% Alliance Leicester Almost 2 out of 5 of you would like to change your current account. When asked why, 49% of you said it was to earn a better interest rate, a third said you would change because you are unhappy with the penalty fees you're paying and 29% said that it's because of the service you're currently getting. Halifax, First Direct and Nationwide were the most popular choices for those wishing to change.

1st Mini Poll (March 2007) – Current Political Leaders

1st Mini Poll (March 2007) – Current Political Leaders

London Voice members back Cameron At the start of February we invited some of you to participate in a mini-poll about current political leaders. Here are the highlights from this survey. The majority thought that David Cameron would make the most competent Prime Minister with 36% backing Cameron in comparison to the 30% who backed Chancellor Gordon Brown. Only 8% of you thought that Lib-Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell would make the best prime minister and 26% of you where undecided. When it comes to level of trust however, the gap widens significantly with 34% of you believing that Cameron will stand up for the interests of London and only 11% of you believing that Brown would do the same. It would appear that Londoners feel a little bit neglected by future candidates for Prime Minister, with 48% of you stating that you don't know whether you can trust any of the candidates on this matter. In general you felt that Brown would be a strong Prime Minister, but you also felt very strongly that he would raise taxes and increase your cost of living.

On the other hand you felt that Cameron would do more to improve schools and hospitals and that he would be more likely to protect the environment. If Gordon Brown was to become Prime Minister, 44% of you believe that he will be no different from Tony Blair, 33% believe he will be worse and only 23% think he will be a better Prime Minister.