Public give their response to the budget
Public give their response to the budget
Overall
- Almost half (45 per cent) of people say Darling?s budget will make them worse off
financially. - This includes almost a quarter (23 per cent) of Labour voters, and half (50 per cent)
of those in or near retirement.
Car scrap scheme
- It seems Darling?s car scrap incentive has taken a wrong turn with nearly nine in
10 (86 per cent) motorists saying it will have no effect on their car buying plans. - Almost half (47 per cent) of motorists also say the budget will make them worse off,
most likely due to the impending rise in fuel duty.
50% tax bracket
- Two thirds (66 per cent) of people agree that it is a good idea to raise the higher
rate tax bracket to 50%.
Politics
- Two fifths (41 per cent) of people think the Chancellor was not telling the ?whole
truth? in his predictions for economic growth in the next few years. This includes one
in six (16 per cent) Labour voters. - Half (46 per cent) the people also agreed with David Cameron?s comment that the
UK is worse off then other countries. - Just 11 per cent agree with Darling, that the UK is in a good position to weather the
recession. - Considering the budget announcement, almost a third (29 per cent) of people think
the Conservatives are the best party to steer the UK through recession, this
compared to 16 per cent that think Labour are the better party.
Borrowing
- Just 18 per cent agree that such a large amount of borrowing is needed to get the UK
through the current recession. - A third (31 per cent) of people think borrowing such a large amount is risky and
detrimental to the UK in the long term and a further two fifths (45 per cent) think it
will debilitate future generations. This includes a fifth (20 per cent) of Labour voters.
Green economy
- A fifth (17 per cent) of people think the development of a green economy is a fad.
- Although the majority seem to support green initiatives, two fifths (42 per cent) of
people think they will have little impact on leading the UK out of the current recession.
The poll also revealed:
- 12 per cent of people believe Darling?s budget will get the UK economy back on
track. - But a fifth (16 per cent) of people think Darling missed a good opportunity for
economic recovery by focusing on the wrong things and a further quarter (23 per
cent) think Brown and Darling are too focused on the global economy, to the
detriment of the UK?s recovery. - Despite several initiatives to kick start the housing market, consumer confidence
clearly remains low with a third (31 per cent) of people saying the initiatives will be
ineffective, although 35 per cent agree Darling was right to tackle the problem.
The Opinium Research post-budget spot poll was carried out online. The initial sample was of ~6,000 members of Opinium?s Panel who were known to be ?quick responders? and to match the UK population profile. These individuals were NOT pre-tasked to watch/ listen to the Budget, as it was felt this might lead to their responses being over polarised/ biased. The first question in the poll asked Voting Intention (this question must always be asked before any other questions, for accuracy). The second question ascertained exposure to the Budget:
?The Chancellor, Alistair Darling made his annual budget statement to Parliament today. Which, if any, of the following did you do??
Respondents with no exposure (about 34%) were excluded from the body of the survey.
This gave us 777 individuals who, by 17:30 on 22nd April 2009, had been exposed to the Budget and were in a position to respond about it. As an additional precaution to reduce mis-response, all the questions offered a ?don?t know? response. The tables have been weighted to be representative of the UK population (with the proviso that this assumes that the population who watch/ listen to/ etc. the Budget is ~ the same as the UK Population).
* Research conducted online amongst a nationally representative sample of 777 UK adults by Opinium Research LLP on Wednesday 22nd April 2009.
