Britons are most likely to think savings can be made in the welfare budget, but this is expected to have negative impacts
Next week’s Spring Statement will outline the chancellor’s plans on government spending and the country’s economic forecast, with major changes to be made within the welfare sector.
New YouGov research explores which areas the public think there is capacity for spending cuts and, if so, whether they are likely to have any negative impact.
Of the six areas we asked about, Britons are most likely to think there is general capacity for spending cuts in welfare, with 51% saying so. However, this includes only 19% who think such cuts can be made without having any adverse effects, with the rest (32%) believing welfare cuts would have a negative impact on services.
A further 36% do not think there is any capacity for spending cuts in the welfare budget.
Health and education are the sectors that fewest people view as having capacity for spending cuts, at 23% and 28% overall respectively, with only 7-9% thinking that spending here can be trimmed without pain.
Instead, a majority of Britons believe there is no scope to lower spending in the health (69%) and education (60%) sectors.
While Keir Starmer has announced that defence spending will be increased, approximately three in ten (31%) believe cuts can be made, although again only 13% think reductions can be made without impact. Half (53%) do not think there is capacity for spending cuts in this area at all.
Those who voted Labour and Liberal Democrat in last year’s general election are more likely than their Tory and Reform voting counterparts to think there is no capacity for spending cuts in almost all of the areas we asked about.
The exception is defence, which the majority of Conservative (74%) and Reform UK (69%) voters cite as a sector without capacity for spending cuts.
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Photo: Getty
