Majority of voters reject Chancellor’s plan to permanently shrink the state

Commenting on the speech by the Chancellor today (Monday) – in which he set out plans to make £25bn worth of additional public spending cuts if the Conservatives are re-elected in 2015 ­­– TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“Voters may have endured the cuts as nasty medicine during recent years of recession and stagnation but they expect to benefit now that the economy is recovering.

“Polling shows that people do not share the Chancellor’s vision of permanently shrinking the state, with most wanting the services that have been cut to be restored as growth returns. Fewer than three in ten people want cuts retained.

“Public spending cuts of the magnitude proposed by George Osborne would cause real pain to hard-working people. Such cuts could not be achieved without getting rid of the vital safety net that people need if they have a baby, lose their job, or have an accident at work. Three-quarters of the welfare cuts already announced have fallen on working people, and further cuts will simply prolong the living standards crisis.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The Department for Work and Pensions’ most recent benefit expenditure tables show how much the government is currently forecast to spend on different elements of social security. TUC analysis of these expenditure tables shows that even if the Chancellor abolished most of the safety net he would still fail to meet the £12bn of annual welfare cuts promised by 2018/19. www.tuc.org.uk/economic-issues/chancellor%E2%80%99s-welfare-cuts-will-hit-safety-net-hard-working-people  

- TUC polling shows that more than half (56 per cent) agree with the statement, “As the economy grows I want to see most or all of the services that have been cut restored”, compared to three in ten (29 per cent) who back, “As the economy grows I want to see most or all of the cuts retained”.

- All figures from the TUC polling, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov plc. Total sample size was 1,666 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 15 and 16 December 2013. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

- The two questions about pay exclude don’t knows and those who are not working. More details of the results, including breaks by voting intention, region, gender and age are available from www.tuc.org.uk/TUCeconomypoll 

- The latest analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies on the scale of public spending cuts implied by the Chancellor’s current fiscal plans can be viewed at www.ifs.org.uk/budgets/as2013/openingremarks_AS13.pdf  

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen   T: 020 7467 1248    M: 07778 158175    E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth    T: 020 7467 1372    M: 07717 531150     E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk