Birmingham bin strike polling
Find Out Now and Electoral Calculus have run a poll for the Sunday Mirror regarding the ongoing Birmingham bin strike.
Fieldwork was conducted from 7–9 February 2025, with a sample size of 2,000. Full write-up on the Electoral Calculus website can be found here, or question wording and results below:
Q1. “City of Birmingham bin workers have been on strike since 11 March. Who do you blame for the ongoing bin strike in Birmingham?”
| Response | All voters | LAB | CON | Reform | West Mids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham City Council | 22% | 25% | 21% | 27% | 29% |
| Bin workers’ union | 10% | 5% | 28% | 11% | 18% |
| UK Government | 14% | 14% | 6% | 15% | 10% |
| Bankruptcy of Birmingham following huge equal pay claims | 9% | 11% | 13% | 12% | 14% |
| None of these | 2% | 3% | 1% | 3% | 2% |
| Don’t know | 44% | 43% | 31% | 32% | 27% |
Q2. “Do you support or oppose the strike of the bin workers in Birmingham?”
| Response | All voters | LAB | CON | Reform | West Mids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support strongly | 9% | 11% | 3% | 10% | 8% |
| Support | 18% | 27% | 7% | 14% | 14% |
| Neither support nor oppose | 23% | 23% | 29% | 30% | 25% |
| Oppose | 10% | 7% | 20% | 12% | 19% |
| Oppose strongly | 9% | 3% | 24% | 13% | 17% |
| Don’t know | 32% | 29% | 17% | 22% | 16% |
| Net support | 27% | 38% | 10% | 24% | 22% |
| Net oppose | 18% | 10% | 44% | 25% | 36% |
Q3. “Do you agree or disagree that the UK government should step in to clear up Birmingham’s streets?”
| Response | All voters | LAB | CON | Reform | West Mids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly agree | 24% | 23% | 20% | 31% | 28% |
| Agree | 33% | 40% | 34% | 30% | 39% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 9% | 9% | 12% | 7% | 6% |
| Disagree | 7% | 4% | 16% | 11% | 11% |
| Strongly disagree | 3% | 1% | 7% | 5% | 4% |
| Don’t know | 24% | 22% | 11% | 15% | 13% |
| Net agree | 57% | 63% | 54% | 62% | 67% |
| Net disagree | 10% | 5% | 23% | 16% | 14% |
Q4. “Do you think your own council does a good or bad job at collecting waste in your area? “
| Response | All voters | LAB | CON | Reform | West Mids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very good | 19% | 19% | 29% | 24% | 18% |
| Good | 44% | 49% | 50% | 38% | 43% |
| Neither good nor bad | 16% | 13% | 12% | 18% | 17% |
| Bad | 8% | 8% | 4% | 11% | 11% |
| Very bad | 3% | 3% | 2% | 2% | 4% |
| Don’t know | 12% | 9% | 3% | 7% | 8% |
| Net good | 62% | 68% | 78% | 62% | 61% |
| Net bad | 11% | 11% | 6% | 13% | 14% |
Q5. “Councils spend around £35 each year to collect waste from a typical household. Would you support or oppose privatising bin collection services, to be run by businesses not councils?”
| Response | All voters | LAB | CON | Reform | West Mids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly support | 2% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 2% |
| Support | 6% | 5% | 7% | 7% | 6% |
| Neither support nor oppose | 16% | 13% | 19% | 20% | 22% |
| Oppose | 23% | 24% | 28% | 21% | 21% |
| Oppose strongly | 32% | 39% | 30% | 33% | 33% |
| Don’t know | 22% | 18% | 14% | 14% | 16% |
| Net support | 8% | 7% | 10% | 13% | 8% |
| Net oppose | 55% | 63% | 57% | 54% | 54% |