UK public most likely to favour levelling up over tax cuts, new poll reveals

  • Levelling up has the strongest support of any of the key Conservative policies, a poll from the cross-party think tank Demos finds.

 

  • 27% indicated the government should prioritise levelling up over other policies, compared with 23% for cutting income tax, 20% for removing the green levy and just 4% for cutting corporation tax.

 

  • The Demos Poll also found overwhelming support (75%) for levelling up as a policy, whether in its current form, focusing on different geographical areas or improving opportunities in deprived areas in a different way.

 

  • But despite the support for the policy, just 13% of people feel their local area has improved in the past 18 months.

 

The UK public is most likely to believe that the government should prioritise levelling up over cutting income tax, according to a new poll from cross-party think tank, Demos, supported by KPMG.

 

The poll asked people to prioritise key government policies, ahead of the Conservative party conference. It found that more people would back levelling up than cutting income and corporation tax, and removing the green levy.

 

Levelling up was referenced in last week’s mini-budget, with the announcement of nearly 40 investment zones to boost development indicating a reframing of the government’s approach. Cuts to income tax and stamp duty, along with the reversal of planned increases to national insurance and corporation tax, were the centrepiece of the Chancellor’s statement.

 

Despite the government’s focus on cutting taxes, Demos’ polling suggests that levelling up remains a priority for the UK public:

 

  • When listed alongside other  policy areas ‘reducing inequality between different parts of the UK’ was the most popular (27%).

 

  • Some 23% think the government should prioritise cutting income tax; 20% think removing the green levy from energy bills and 4% think cutting corporation tax.

 

  • 75% support some form of levelling up;

    • 33% think the government should prioritise improving opportunities in deprived parts of the UK in a different way to the Johnson administration

    • 24% think the government should continue with levelling up in  the same way as the Johnson administration

    • 18% think the government should continue with levelling up but prioritise different geographical areas

 

  • Reducing inequality and improving deprived areas is important to people, but the current approach is not cutting through to people at the local level, the research found.

 

  • 36% said their local area had declined during the past 18 months; 51% said their local area had neither improved nor declined while just 13% said their local area had improved.

 

  • Part of the failure to deliver could be that local people aren’t being involved in the policy. 50% of people polled said they do not think that national government understands the needs of their local area and only 16% of people agreed that the national government did understand the needs of their area.

 

Dr Kate Harrison, Lead Researcher at Demos, said:

 

“There is clearly a huge appetite for regional inequality in the UK to be addressed and ultimately reduced. Despite the government’s plan to cut a significant number of taxes, our polling shows that the British public would prefer the government to instead focus on improving opportunities for those living in the most deprived areas. This suggests Investment Zones may be one of the most closely watched of the Chancellor’s announcements.

 

Chris Hearld, Head of Regions at KPMG, said:

 

“The businesses we advise, and the people we polled, have clear priorities for the areas that they live and work in. This local insight is valuable for policy making and can lead to better outcomes.

 

“The new government may be refocusing its levelling up strategy, but this data suggests that devolution and public participation are the key foundations of that agenda.”