Support is rising for “tax and spend” politics in Britain, according to a new survey.
The British Social Attitudes survey has found 48 per cent of Britons would back the government increasing taxes to bolster spending, the highest support for such measures since 2004, City AM reports.
The report also found:
- public scepticism for the EU is on the rise
- Britons are becoming more liberal about same-sex relationships, pre-marital sex and abortion
- more than half of Britons want the government to have strong powers to act against terrorists.
Britons think the government should prioritise spending on health – 83 per cent, education – 71 per cent and the police – 57 per cent.
However, only 16 per cent of those surveyed said they would back more spending on the unemployed.
Attitudes towards benefit claimants appeared to have softened, with the proportion of people saying benefit claimants don’t deserve help dropping from 32 per cent in 2014 to 21 per cent in 2016, the lowest level ever recorded by the survey.
The report said: “The public in general continues to take a tough line on the response to threats at home and abroad.
“The majority want the authorities to be given strong powers to respond to terrorism and crime, and record numbers want defence spending increased.”
