More than half of the public would support farmers if they decided to strike, in line with support shown for nurses and ambulance workers

A new Ipsos survey reveals that public support for striking farmers is on par with support for nurses and ambulance workers. The poll, conducted among 1,085 British adults aged 16-75 between November 15th and 17th, 2024, highlights public concern about the treatment of farmers by the British government.
Over half (55%) of Britons would support farmers if they decided to strike, mirroring the levels of support seen for nurses (56%) and ambulance workers (56%).

Elsewhere in the survey, people were also asked how well or badly various groups are treated by the British government, media, and wider society. Half of Britons (53%) believe farmers are treated worse than they should be by the government. Only 7% think they are treated better than they should be, while 28% believe they are treated as they should be. 
The survey reveals a sense of unfair treatment across various sectors of society. Many feel that pensioners (59%), small businesses (50%), working people (48%), and people like them (47%) are not getting a fair deal. On the other hand, around half of Britons believe that those with high incomes (54%) and big businesses (51%) are treated better than they deserved.  Additionally, four in ten (40%) Britons believe that immigrants are treated better than they should be.

When it comes to the media, around or just under 4 in 10 Britons believe that people on benefits (41%), young people (37%), pensioners (37%) and immigrants (36%, vs 28% who think they are treated better than they should be) are treated worse than they should be by the media.  Similarly, around 4 in 10 think that the British public itself treats pensioners (42%), farmers (38%), immigrants (38%, vs 27% who think they are treated too well), and people on benefits (38%) unfairly poorly. In both cases, big businesses and people on high incomes are most felt to get treated better than they deserve (around 4 in 10 for each).

Gideon Skinner, Senior Director of UK Politics at Ipsos said:

Our polling reveals the extent of public sympathy for farmers, who have joined the likes of nurses and ambulance workers in the level of support Britons think they would have should they choose to strike.  This is underpinned by a clear sense that farmers are being unfairly treated by the British government – only pensioners (themselves a source of public concern over the removal of the universal winter fuel allowance) are more likely to be seen as getting a bad deal.
More broadly, the public are also worried over the way the government is treating working people generally, small businesses, and people like them, and young people, immigrants and people on benefits join the list when thinking about unfair treatment from the media or the British public at large (even though immigrants are seen as getting a relatively good deal from the government).  The two groups who are most felt to get a better deal than they deserve in all spheres are people on high incomes and big business -suggesting Britons still feel there is unequal treatment in our system.

Technical note

• Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,085 online British adults aged 16-75. Interviews were conducted between the 15th-17th November 2024.
• Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.