Two-thirds say the Government is not providing enough support on the cost of living

• Only 3 in 10 say they trust the Conservative party to reduce their and their family’s cost of living, compared to 45% saying they trust Labour.
• Even the majority of 2019 Conservative voters do not trust the Conservatives to reduce the cost of living (55%)

New research by Ipsos shows two-thirds (66%) of Britons say the UK Government is not providing enough support on the cost of living. This has increased from around half (49%) who said the same in late May this year. Only one in five (19%) say they are providing the right amount of support, while 9% say they are doing too much. 

Even among those who voted Conservative in 2019, the majority (59%) say the government  are not doing enough. This increases to three-quarters (77%) of 2019 Labour voters.

Slightly more Britons say they trust the Labour party to manage Britain’s taxes and public spending than the Conservative party, however both are trusted by minorities. While 44% say they trust Labour to look after taxes and public spending (an increase from 35% last month but in line with levels seen earlier in the year), 37% say the same for the Conservatives. The gap is even wider when it comes to reducing people’s cost of living. Forty-five per cent trust Labour to reduce their/their family’s cost of living, while 3 in 10 (30%) say the same for the Conservatives. This includes the majority (55%) of 2019 Conservative voters saying they do not trust the Conservatives on the cost of living.

When it comes to perceptions of the economy, people’s views are most likely to be influenced by news about levels of inflation/whether prices are going up (66%, +5 since March) or interest rates (55%, +7). Just under half are influenced by news about unemployment rates (45%) but this has risen from nearer three in ten (31%) in March. 

Trinh Tu, Managing Director of Public Affairs at Ipsos in the UK, said:

As the cost of living continues to rise, it will come as no surprise to see high levels of the public saying the  government is not providing enough support.  What is notable is the rising levels of dissatisfaction with the government among Conservative voters. The Labour party are now pulling ahead as the party most trusted to reduce the cost of living and manage Britain’s taxes and public spending, but still only by a minority, highlighting Keir Starmer’s own challenges as he finally sets out Labour’s plans to relieve cost of living pressures.

Technical note:

• Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 2,001 adults aged 18-75 in Great Britain. Interviews took place on the online Omnibus on 9th-11th August 2022. Data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.