British opinion is still split on support for National Insurance rise
As we get closer to April's increase in National Insurance to pay for NHS backlogs and social care, we ask how supportive are Britons for the tax rise?
New research by Ipsos in the UK shows Britons are still divided in terms of their support for the increase in National Insurance payments planned by the Government. This increase of 1.25 percentage points to both employees’ and employers’ NI contributions would go towards easing the NHS backlog and change the way social care is funded.
Three in 10 (31%) Britons support the increase in National Insurance while 28% oppose it. A similar proportion (31%) neither support nor oppose. The group who are most opposed are 35-54 year olds, by 34% to 26%. Conservative 2019 voters are slightly in favour, by 34% to 27%, while Labour 2019 voters are marginally against by 34% to 30%.
There has been no change in support since September 2021 when 31% also supported the tax rise, although there has been a small five-point fall in those opposed (and a corresponding increase in those with a neutral opinion).
Most Britons say they knew at least something about the intended National Insurance rise, although only 4 in 10 rated their knowledge as at least fair. One in 10 (10%) say they knew a great deal while 3 in 10 either knew a fair amount (31%) or not very much (also 31%) and a further 12% had heard of it but knew nothing about it.
Over the next 3 years, the Government expects the increase in taxes to raise an additional £12bn per year for the NHS and social care. However, around 4 in 10 think even this will be too little extra funding for either the NHS (40%) or social care (39%), again little change from the end of last year. Around a third expect it to be about the right amount (33% and 31% respectively) while only 14% think it will be too much for either. Half of 2019 Labour voters think it will not be enough for the NHS, compared with 34% of Conservative voters, among whom more say it will be the right amount (39%).
Trinh Tu, Managing Director of Public Affairs at Ipsos in the UK, said:
With the National Insurance rise due to take effect in April, Britons are still split over whether it is the right or the wrong decision. However, while we know there is much concern about the cost of living, many people also feel that even this extra increase won’t provide all the funding the NHS and our social care system needs.
Technical note:
- Ipsos in the UK interviewed a representative sample of 1,050 British adults aged 16-75. Interviews were conducted using its online omnibus between 4-5 February 2022. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.
