The British public would like a more detailed explanation of parties’ plans for the budget according to a Channel 4 survey. The majority (68%) state that in the coming election, parties ‘could and should set out in far more detail’ their plans for taxes and spending over the next two or three years. In comparison, only one fifth of the public (21%) opposes this claim and believes that it is reasonable for parties to not decide on the details of a budget, claiming that it is impossible to know what will happen to the economy.
When asked what they would prefer to see if after the election the government had to find more money that it expects, the majority of the public (55%) state that they would prefer reduction in public spending, in order to avoid the increase of taxes. They also believe that the next government should begin cutting the deficit this year: 52% agree that ‘the longer they leave it, the worse it will get’. Just over a quarter (26%) believes that the deficit should not be cut this year as it ‘could put the economy at risk’.
These views are echoed on TellYouGov with many users, or ‘tyggers’, criticising the clarity of the parties’ economic plans, claiming that they have ‘no clear strategy to get out of the mess’. One demanded that the leaders ‘tell us all the detailed facts, please’. Public spending also features high in the public’s priorities, with one tygger claiming that public spending ‘should be cut immediately’ and another saying that cuts in public spending are ‘needed for the country to survive’.
TellYouGov is also witness to the opposing side of the debate. One user, or 'tygger', asked ‘why don't people accept that they have to pay for their public services through tax? Why do all the political parties say they will cut tax? I would support the one that said it would increase tax’ and another lamenting that they were ‘fed up with all parties assuming that I would prefer cuts to tax rises’. As the election campaigns continue to gather speed, the battle for the economy rages on.
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