Cutting spending on public services or making them more efficient - Trends
Q. Please tell me how strongly you agree or disagree with each of these arguments about public services and public spending
"There is a real need to cut spending on public services in order to pay off the very high national debt we now have"
| June 2009 | November 2009 | March 2010 | June 2010 | September 2010 | October 2010 | November 2010 | February 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Strongly agree | 18 | 17 | 24 | 31 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 22 |
| Tend to agree | 22 | 26 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 28 | 26 |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 7 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 |
| Tend to disagree | 22 | 23 | 23 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 16 |
| Strongly disagree | 29 | 21 | 22 | 15 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 25 |
| Don't know | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Agree | 43 | 43 | 49 | 59 | 57 | 59 | 56 | 48 |
| Disagree | 44 | 44 | 45 | 32 | 37 | 32 | 33 | 41 |
| Net agree | -1 | -1 | +4 | +23 | +20 | +27 | +23 | +7 |
Base: c. 1,000 GB adults aged 18+22
"Making public services more efficient can save enough money to pay off the very high national debt we now have, without damaging services the public receive"
| November 2009 | March 2010 | June 2010 | September 2010 | November 2010 | February 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Strongly agree | 26 | 35 | 27 | 21 | 27 | 24 |
| Tend to agree | 36 | 29 | 32 | 35 | 27 | 30 |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 9 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
| Tend to disagree | 17 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 14 |
| Strongly disagree | 9 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 20 |
| Don't know | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Agree | 62 | 64 | 59 | 56 | 54 | 54 |
| Disagree | 26 | 27 | 32 | 34 | 37 | 34 |
| Net agree | +36 | +37 | +27 | +22 | +17 | +20 |
Base: c. 1,000 GB adults aged 18+
