Attitudes to the recovery

Ipsos polling for the Policy Network shows that, despite rising optimism about the economy,  Britons feel that not all sections of society are feeling the benefits.  This reflects other Ipsos research that found half of Britons feel the recent economic upturn has had no impact on their standard of living, and that people’s optimism about their own financial circumstances is not as high as their prospects for the economy as a whole.  Meanwhile, the Conservatives have just a marginal lead over Labour as the party most trusted to make Britain a “fair place to work hard, make a living, and do well for yourself”.

When asked whether various groups are experiencing rising living standards:

• only 15% say their own living standards are getting better, compared with 42% who feel they are getting worse
• similarly, only 12% think that the living standards of most people in Britain are getting better, while 62% think they are getting worse
• poor people are felt to be suffering the most – 8% think their living standards are getting better,  but 72% think they are getting worse
• this contrasts with the 58% who feel the living standards of the rich are improving (only 7% think they are getting worse)

Other polling from Ipsos has shown the nature of the battleground between the Conservatives and Labour on the economy: the Conservatives are most trusted on growing Britain’s economy, Labour lead on reducing the cost of living, while the two parties are neck and neck on  “ensuring you and your family benefits from a growing economy”.  This survey adds an extra dimension to this, by asking which party is most trusted to “make Britain a fair place to work hard, make a living, and do well for yourself”.  Here, the Conservatives have a very marginal lead, trusted by 30%, with Labour on 27%.  The Liberal Democrats and UKIP are chosen by 8% and 6% respectively, while 18% say they would trust no party.

In terms of economic policies, if the recovery continues and there is less pressure on government finances, people say they would prefer more spending on public services to cutting taxes by 56% to 40%.  Meanwhile, half (51%) say they would choose to set the income tax rate for income over £150,000 a year at 50p in the pound or higher, while 44% would put it at 45p in the pound or less.

• Download the topline results (PDF)
• Download the full computer tables (PDF)

Technical note:

Ipsos interviewed 1,009 GB adults aged 18+, by telephone, between 12th – 14th October 2013.  Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.