Broken Britain? 76% say UK is becoming a worse place to live as taxes and NHS crisis take toll
hree quarters of people in Britain say that it is becoming a worse place to live, a poll revealed on Monday amid long NHS waiting lists, rising taxes, strikes and high inflation deepening the cost-of-living crisis.
The Ipsos survey for the Standard made grisly reading for the Tories, with Rishi Sunak getting his lowest satisfaction score as Prime Minister.
The Government has also sunk to a record low on being seen to be doing a bad job on managing the economy, taxation, public expenditure and scores dismally on improving the health service, and badly on dealing with crime, and managing immigration.
They key findings were:
- 76 per cent think Britain as a place to live is getting worse, compared with 49 per cent in June 2010 at the start of the austerity years, and 71 per cent in May 2008 as the financial crisis hit harder with Northern Rock having been nationalised a few months earlier.
- For Westminster voting intentions, Labour is on 45 per cent, down two points, the Tories 28 per cent, up three points, and the Liberal Democrats 12 per cent, down one.
- But Mr Sunak gets his lowest satisfaction rating as Prime Minister, with 63 per cent dissatisfied and just 26 per cent satisfied, a net score of minus 37, compared with minus 31 last month.
- Sir Keir Starmer is seen as the “most capable PM” by 36 per cent to Mr Sunak’s 31 per cent, having been neck-and-neck in May and March.
- 39 per cent agree that Sir Keir is ready to be PM, with 37 per cent disagreeing, the first time he has a net positive score on this question.
- Sir Keir’s satisfaction figure is unchanged on 31 per cent, but dissatisfieds are up four points to 53 per cent.
- The findings for the Government are little changed, with 79 per cent dissatisfied and 14 per cent satisfied.
- 43 per cent agree that Labour is ready to form the next government, with 37 per cent disagreeing — similar figures since the start of this year.
On how Mr Sunak’s government has performed since being formed in October, the percentage saying badly was a record low for the Conservatives on managing the economy (69 per cent) and handling taxation and public expenditure (71 per cent), and has also got worse on dealing with cost of living (75 per cent), improving the NHS (82 per cent), boosting the education system (64 per cent), dealing with crime (67 per cent) and on managing immigration (77 per cent).
Only on Britain’s response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine did the Government score positively, with 58 per cent saying it was doing a good job.
In a glimmer of hope for the Tories, economic pessimism has also eased, with 55 per cent expecting the general economic conditions to get worse over the next year, and 28 per cent improve, giving a net score of minus 27, compared with minus 37 in June.
Gideon Skinner, of Ipsos UK, said: “Labour has clear strengths to play on when it comes to public services like the NHS, and the cost of living, but doubts still remain, including on overall perceptions of economic competence. But this is being outweighed by unhappiness with the Conservatives’ performance.”
Two thirds say that it is “time for a change” at the next election, expected in the autumn of next year. Labour would do a better job, rather than a worse one, on dealing with the cost of living by 36 per cent to 21, levelling up (38/15), ties with the EU (32/21), improving the NHS (47/13), enhancing the education system (37/15), dealing with crime (26/18), managing immigration (29/26), but not on response to Putin’s war where the finding was (10/21).
Ipsos interviewed 1,065 adults in Britain by phone between July 19 and 23. Data are weighted.
