Public opinion moves further against cuts
In my presentation at Netroots UK I included graphs showing how public opinion on the cuts has moved since the election using data from YouGov.
Yesterday they published a further data set for a poll conducted Jan 8-10 in which they have again asked these questions.
In a weak joke I have made far too many times I say one pole does not make a telegraph system. I have high regard for YouGov, but the laws of probability mean that polls are occasionally inaccurate.
But if today’s polls are right then there has been a significant move in public opinion as the astute Anthony Wells notes. More people expect to be diectly hit by the cuts, there is a marked shift in whether people think they are good for the economy (which is the one I think is crucial) and the majority who say they are unfair has increased again.
Net directly affected by cuts (ie those who think they will be directly affected by the cuts minus those who do not)

.
Net good for the economy

.
Net being done fairly

Public opinion is therefore moving away from the coalition.
But there is no room for complacency.
For the first time YouGov has asked the question that I would have liked to have been there from the beginning, which is whether the cuts are necessary or unnecessary:
- 52 per cent say necessary
- 35 per cent say unnecessary
As a snap-shot question it doesn’t tell us a great deal as some people would have said “necessary” even if they think the depth and scale of what the government is doing is too great, but if it’s going to be used as a tracker question in future it will be interesting to see how it moves.
And while I’ve not tracked this question in previous polls (though it has been asked):
- 40 per cent say the last Labour government is most to blame for the cuts
- 22 per cent say the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.
So things are a little better than they were in the pre-Christmas polls – particularly on ‘good for the economy’ – but there is still a long way to go so nothing in what I said needs adjusting despite some encouragement in this latest data set.
---------------------------
| Tweet |
Nigel Stanley is an occasional contributor to Liberal Conspiracy. He is the TUC’s Head of Campaigns and Communications. He's also at the ToUCstone blog.
· Other posts by Nigel Stanley
Story Filed Under: News
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Reader comments
Have they asked questions about the speed of the cuts ?
52% saying cuts are necessary is not surprising.
I’ve yet to meet anyone who is a ‘deficit denier’ despite the Coalition lies & propaganda.
What the argument is about is the tax rise/cuts split, timing and speed of cuts, allowing the economy to recover with stimulus and increase tax receipts etc.
And what are “the public” suggesting to do with the budget? Do they wish to pay more taxes or prefer to receive fewer services?
I assume if you did a poll about the opinion on death, it would also be highly negative. Yet we all know we cannot escape it.
Also, don’t see any real cuts here. The new government is still spending more money than they expect to take in: http://andreasmoser.wordpress.com/2010/11/15/uk-budget-what-cuts/
Isn’t Labour also very, very far behind in polls of the sort “who do you trust more on the economy”?
“I’ve yet to meet anyone who is a ‘deficit denier’ despite the Coalition lies & propaganda”
I’ve met a fair few, I’m afraid. If you hang around here long enough it tends to descend into a shouting match between The Debt Doesn’t Even Exist Maaan It’s All In Your Minds (Workers of the World, Unite!) vs. We Don’t Even Need A Minimal State Lets Just Have Voluntary Protection Associations and Our Own Guns – Cut Everything!
I exaggerate, but only slightly.
The key figures will be public opinion on polling day in 5 years.
The lack of ‘deficit deniers’ in this country is pretty sad, given that fears about ‘excessive’ deficits are little more than a remnant of gold standard/gold exchange standard thinking. In modern sovereign nations – which doesn’t include the euro zone; they gave up currency sovereignty – neither taxes nor borrowing fund government spending, and deficits are a reflection of non-governemnt – including foreign – saving.
Deficits become excessive when the spending exceeds the capacity of the economy to respond with goods/services, but with unused capital and, far more importantly, millions unemployed we are not even close to that point. The problem with the deficit is that it is too small and the result of badly targeted spending.
Reactions: Twitter, blogs
- Liberal Conspiracy
Public opinion moves further against cuts http://bit.ly/fNKeNC
- Martin McIvor
RT @libcon: Public opinion moves further against cuts http://bit.ly/fNKeNC
- Max Hernández Calvo
RT @libcon: Public opinion moves further against cuts http://bit.ly/fNKeNC
- cheesley
RT @libcon: Public opinion moves further against cuts http://bit.ly/fNKeNC
- Matt Jeffs
RT @libcon: Public opinion moves further against cuts http://bit.ly/fNKeNC
- Sirena Bergman
Interesting stats on the public opinion on cuts: http://bit.ly/gF45Zq
- Andy Bean
RT @libcon: Public opinion moves further against cuts http://bit.ly/fNKeNC
- Tweetminster
"Public opinion moves further against cuts" http://bit.ly/f3ATDB – Liberal Conspiracy
- Jonathan Welsh
RT @tweetminster: "Public opinion moves further against cuts" http://bit.ly/f3ATDB – Liberal Conspiracy
- JAMES
RT @tweetminster: "Public opinion moves further against cuts" http://bit.ly/f3ATDB – Liberal Conspiracy
- JamieSW
RT @tweetminster: "Public opinion moves further against cuts" http://bit.ly/f3ATDB – Liberal Conspiracy
- Pat Cox
RT @tweetminster: "Public opinion moves further against cuts" http://bit.ly/f3ATDB – Liberal Conspiracy
- Pucci Dellanno
RT @libcon: Public opinion moves further against cuts http://bit.ly/fNKeNC @noUKcuts @nick_clegg @NaomiAKlein @ggreenwald @johannhari101
- wmd-gnome
RT @libcon: Public opinion moves further against cuts http://bit.ly/fNKeNC
- Becky Wright
RT @NigelStanley: I update the polling on cuts presented at #netrootsuk. Looks significant, but still someway to go. http://bit.ly/goVLcP
- Rachael
RT @libcon: Public opinion moves further against cuts http://bit.ly/fNKeNC
- Celyn
RT @libcon: Public opinion moves further against cuts http://bit.ly/fNKeNC
- Daniel Pitt
RT @libcon: Public opinion moves further against cuts http://bit.ly/fNKeNC
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
You can read articles through the front page, via Twitter or RSS feed. You can also get them by email and through our Facebook group.
» Criticism of Obama for its own sake: a reply to Mehdi Hasan
» Do older people really need more NHS healthcare?
» There are alternatives to the reckless ‘Plan A’
» On Beecroft: it is already quite easy to sack people
» Why Cameron’s claim of 600,000 jobs created is plainly wrong
» By using age to allocate NHS funding, Lansley rewards Tory voters
» The rise in domestic violence deaths is not an “isolated” problem
» Adrian Beecroft highlights mindset of Tory right
» The US is now a model for the Eurozone to save itself
» The IMF plan to revive the economy doesn’t go far enough
» The Boris brand is weaker than his friends think
|
48 Comments 93 Comments 23 Comments 56 Comments 10 Comments 26 Comments 24 Comments 69 Comments 44 Comments 25 Comments |
LATEST COMMENTS » Cylux posted on Red Tory Blond: gay marriage "homophobic" » Tim Worstallt posted on Robin Hood tax: backed by the rich AND the rest, says new poll » Just Visiting posted on On Beecroft: it is already quite easy to sack people » Robin Hood tax: backed by the rich AND the rest, says new poll | Liberal Conspiracy posted on Poll: banks not paying fair share for crisis » Chaise Guevara posted on Red Tory Blond: gay marriage "homophobic" » Chaise Guevara posted on Red Tory Blond: gay marriage "homophobic" » Just Visiting posted on On Beecroft: it is already quite easy to sack people » john b posted on Red Tory Blond: gay marriage "homophobic" » Cylux posted on Red Tory Blond: gay marriage "homophobic" » Shinsei1967 posted on Criticism of Obama for its own sake: a reply to Mehdi Hasan » Chaise Guevara posted on Adrian Beecroft highlights mindset of Tory right » Mary Tracy posted on How Newsnight demonised a single mother » Chaise Guevara posted on Red Tory Blond: gay marriage "homophobic" » Chaise Guevara posted on Do older people really need more NHS healthcare? » Chaise Guevara posted on Do older people really need more NHS healthcare? |










