Economy

Ipsos' Economic Optimism Index stands at -44; an improvement from earlier in year, but 60% still think the economy will get worse over the next 12 months and only 16% say it will get better.

Following the Spending Review, Labour has seen a small increase in public trust to manage the economy and continue to be most trusted to improve public services. However, 45% of Britons say the Spending Review left them more concerned about Britain's economy, with nearly 8 in 10 expecting tax hikes within the next year.

As political and economic stakes rise across the UK, Ipsos’ second Beyond the Bubble webinar of the year couldn’t have arrived at a more pivotal time.

Half (51%) of Britons say that Rachel Reeves is doing a bad job as Chancellor (16% good job). These ratings are near identical to Kwasi Kwarteng’s in the aftermath of the September 2022 mini-budget.

The golden rule of reputation? It’s never built in isolation—context is everything, and it’s more turbulent than ever.

Two in five (40%) believe it would be a good thing for Chancellor to break her fiscal rules, if it meant raising more money for higher quality public services. However, they are less supportive of breaking the rules in principle (20%) or if it leads to more borrowing (14%) or higher taxes (15%).

Half (51%) of Britons now think that Britain should prioritise building a closer trade relationship with the EU, even if it means increasing barriers to trade with the United States – up from 42% in March.

Three in five (61%) Britons think a recession is likely within the next year.

Current net figure of -68 even slightly lower than levels recorded during some of the most challenging economic periods in recent history, including January 1980 recession, 2008 financial crash, and the 2022 start of the cost-of-living crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and invasion of Ukraine.