Public support tax increases

A Populus poll in yesterday’s Times revealed that 60% of voters favour tax increases to help close the budget deficit.

Despite a headline declaring that, “Voters back Tories over big cuts in spending,” the Times revealed that:

“Nearly two fifths of voters (38 per cent) favour a roughly equal split between tax increases and cuts in spending in order to reduce government borrowing and debt. Just over a fifth back tax increases with fewer or no increases in public spending.

“By contrast, a third put more emphasis on spending cuts with fewer or no tax increases. These figures are virtually the same as in mid-April, when the spring Budget was presented.”

The underlying data, seen by Left Foot Forward, show that 58% of Conservative voters favour tax increases compared to 70% of Labour supporters and 73% of Liberal Democrat supporters.

By contrast just 37% of those intending to vote Conservative favour “more emphasis on reduced public spending with fewer tax increases” or “just reductions in public spending and no tax increases.” Among Labour supporters the total falls to 28% and just 25% among Liberal Democrat supporters.

http://www.leftfootforward.org/2009/09/stark-choices-in-weekend-polls-hide-true-public-sentiment/ Stark choices in weekend polls hide true public sentiment | Left Foot Forward

[...] So far, so stark. But when the public were offered more choices – as happened in the Times/Populus poll in July – the results turn out to be very [...]
http://www.leftfootforward.org/2009/09/public-split-on-tax-rises-vs-spending-cuts/ Public split on tax rises vs. spending cuts | Left Foot Forward

[...] Left Foot Forward pointed out that an earlier poll by Populus for the Times revealed that 60 per cent of voters favoured tax increases to help close [...]
http://www.leftfootforward.org/2010/03/public-turned-off-age-of-austerity/ Public turned off “age of austerity” | Left Foot Forward

[...] the deficit, the public is split on tax rises versus spending cuts while another poll showed that 60 per cent favour tax increases to help close the budget [...]
http://www.leftfootforward.org/2010/03/public-split-on-economic-strategy-but-dont-want-osborne/ Public split on economic strategy (but don’t want Osborne) | Left Foot Forward

[...] and tax rises. Only the Lib Dems want to see the deficit reduced entirely from spending cuts. As Left Foot Forward has shown previously, when the public are given a proper range of options including a mix of [...]