CSR Reaction Poll
KPMG/ Ipsos Spending Review reaction poll shows the public accept need for cuts but are worried about exactly where cuts are being made and the long-term impact
KPMG/ Ipsos Spending Review reaction poll shows the public accept need for cuts but are worried about exactly where cuts are being made and the long-term impact.
The public is split on whether the Coalition is making the right decisions on where to cut spending, a KPMG/ Ipsos poll conducted the evening of the Spending Review shows.
Public agreement that cuts are needed continues to rise and confidence that the government's plans will improve the economy in the long term remains higher than throughout the last five years of the Labour government. However, economic confidence has dropped significantly since last month, and many people are concerned about the speed of the cuts.
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Reaction to specific spending proposals is mixed. There is broad support for ending child benefit for those on higher incomes, reducing welfare spending and increasing the state pension age, although the public are split on reducing public sector jobs and are opposed to reducing spending on policing.
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Overall, public acceptance that cuts are needed continues to increase. Two in three people agree that there is a need to cut spending on public services (59%) compared to a third who disagree (32%), giving a net agreement of +27 percentage points. This compares to net agreement in September of +20, and continues the growing acceptance of the need for cuts seen over the last few months.
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However, the public is evenly split on whether the government has made the right or wrong decisions in its Spending Review about where to cut (41% think it has made the right decisions, 38% the wrong decisions), and one in five don't know (21%). Those who voted Conservative at the general election are most likely to think the government has made the right decisions (67%), while Labour voters are least likely to agree (21%). Over two in five people who voted Liberal Democrat in the May general election agree with the government's overall spending decisions (44%).
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Confidence that the government's policies will improve the state of the economy in the long term has dropped significantly since before the Spending Review, although is still much higher than any during the Labour administration since mid-2005. Almost half think the Coalition's policies will improve the state of the economy (48%), compared to 39% who disagree. This compares to 57% who agreed in September and 61% who agreed in June.
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Long-term confidence in the future of public services is lower than confidence in the economy, and has also dropped since September. Two in five agree that the government will improve public services in the long-term (39%), while half disagree (49%). In September, the public were evenly split (45% each).
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Many people remain concerned about the speed of the cuts. Two-thirds of the public would prefer that spending is cut more slowly to reduce the impact on public services (68%) than think it is important to cut spending quickly (27%). This is broadly in line with findings since the election.
In terms of specific announcements:
- The public support ending child benefit for higher income earners (73%), reducing welfare spending (61%) and increasing the state pension age (60%),
- People are split on reducing the number of public sector workers (45% support, 47% oppose)
- However, there is public opposition to reducing spending on policing (62% oppose)
Chief Exec of Ipsos Ben Page said:
"Most people now agree that public spending has to be cut but are completely divided over whether the government has overall, made the right cuts today. However more believe it will help the economy than harm it."
Alan Downey, KPMG's head of public sector, comments:
"The survey results suggest that the Chancellor has scored a partial victory in the battle to win the hearts and minds of the British people.160 The majority agree that cuts are needed, and among those polled slightly more agree than disagree with the statement that the government is making the right decisions about where spending cuts should be made.160
That is not a bad result for the government, given that we are facing expenditure reductions on a scale that none of us has seen before.Nevertheless it is clear that the coalition government faces an uphill struggle to persuade people that cuts need to be made quickly: two-thirds of those surveyed would prefer to see the cuts phased in over a longer period of time.160
However, since the last poll there has been a slight shift of opinion in favour of taking rapid action. As far as specific cuts are concerned, there is broad support for ending child benefit for higher rate taxpayers, saving an additional 1637bn from the welfare budget and increasing the state pension age to 66.160
However, there is strong opposition to the proposed cuts in police spending, and opinion is divided on the desirability of cutting 490,000 public sector jobs."Why does public opinion matter?160 Because all the evidence from other countries that have faced similar problems is that efforts to reduce deficits only succeed if there is a groundswell of public support for the cuts.160 The government needs to convince a majority of voters that the cuts are broadly fair and that we really are 'in this together' ".
Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 817 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted by telephone on 20 Oct 2010.160 Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.160
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