A majority of voters believe that the raft of tax-raising measures unveiled at last week’s Budget prove that Labour has failed to fix the public finances after more than year in office.
Senior Labour officials including Chancellor Rachel Reeves have suggested that the government faced constraints on public finances as a result of international trade disruptions and an impromptu productivity downgrade by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) based on the previous government’s economic performance.
But the latest City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll of voters casts doubt on whether those arguments have stuck with voters.
Over half (58 per cent) said that the decision to raise taxes by a further £26bn at last week’s controversial Budget showed the government had failed to properly manage public finances and the UK economy.
Around a third (35 per cent) agreed that raising taxes was “necessary” to fix long-term problems and protect public finances.
The nationally representative survey of eligible UK voters shines a light on public attitudes towards the Budget and comes after Keir Starmer said the government would push ahead with a “productivity revolution”.
He said austerity during the previous government had dampened long-term growth prospects, adding that Labour plans to boost capital expenditure and push ahead with deregulation would allow the UK economy to “beat the forecasts”.
“I am proud our public finances and services are moving in the right direction,” Starmer said.
“Right at the heart of the Budget we have a package of measures that give the greenlight for the world’s best entrepreneurs.”
Voters don’t fall for tax arguments
Research by City AM/Freshwater Strategy, however, suggests Starmer has a mountain to climb to persuade the public of his government’s economic credentials.
Figures showed that the Labour government was held directly responsible for tax rises at the Budget among 44 per cent of respondents.
A slightly smaller proportion of voters (41 per cent) said rising government debt-interest payments had forced it to raise taxes.
Despite Labour ministers’ attempts to blame the Conservatives for low growth, just a quarter of respondents believed the last government was to blame for a rise in taxes.
Decisions made by Reeves were met with broad sense of negativity among the electorate, with most people also believing that the Labour’s first mission to grow the UK economy was falling flat.
Some 56 per cent of respondents said they believed the UK economy would worsen over the next 12 months while 44 per cent said they predicted their household finances would deteriorate.
Just one in five (21 per cent) said they believed their finances would get better and that the UK economy would improve in the next year.
Method note: Freshwater Strategy interviewed n=1,558 eligible voters in the UK, aged 18+ online, between 28 – 30 November 2025. Margin of Error +/- 2.5%. Data are weighted to be representative of UK voters. Freshwater Strategy are members of the British Polling Council and abide by their rules.