Advertisement

Nearly Half The Public Supports Welfare Cuts

Nearly half of the public support cutting benefits, according to a Sky News survey, as George Osborne prepares to announce £12bn of welfare cuts in his first Conservative Budget.

It also shows that nearly two-thirds of Britons (64%) support Conservative plans to lower the maximum amount of benefits households receive from £26,000 to £23,000 a year.

And 42% think cutting housing benefit for those under 25 is a good idea, while 37% oppose the idea, according to the Sky Data study .

Both measures are expected to be included in the Chancellor's second Budget statement this year - his first without the Liberal Democrats.

:: What To Expect In The First Conservative Budget

However, while the survey shows 48% of people support cutting welfare benefits in general (37% oppose cuts), it also suggests an attack on the tax credits system would meet with hostility.

David Cameron has already indicated the Government will be targeting tax credits, the in-work benefits that cost the country just shy of £30bn a year.

The cost of the handouts, which the Prime Minister says have subsidised a low-wage culture, has risen significantly in the last decade. By comparison unemployment benefits only cost £4bn a year.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has said returning the tax credits to 2003 levels could save the economy £5bn.

:: The Welfare Cuts Explained In Seven Graphs

But the Sky News survey found that 63% of people opposed cutting tax credits for those with children. The same number oppose cutting benefits for disabled people who are working.

Although, Mr Osborne could introduce measures to improve the minimum wage to compensate for any cut.

Speaking to Sky News earlier this week, Glasgow supermarket delivery driver Mark Payne explained he and his family would struggle to survive if the £7,000 he receives in tax credits no longer topped up his salary.

He works a 35-hour week delivering groceries, earning £13,000 a year.

He said: "If they cut tax credits again, to be honest I don't have a clue what I'm going to do.

"I don't have enough to live on properly as it is, which means I don't heat the house, you buy cheaper food.

"I'll always feed and clothe my kids as well as I can, but something will have to give if they cut it again."

The Sky survey also found:

:: People still view the Conservatives as the party of the rich, with 60% saying the Tories "care more about the rich than the poor".

:: 36% of people thought the Conservatives cared more about the English than Scots – 25% disagreed.

:: 42% agreed the Conservatives cared more about people in the South than the North – 28% disagreed.

:: The nation was split on Mr Osborne’s record, with 48% of people saying they were dissatisfied with his performance and 44% saying they were satisfied.

Sky interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,936 Sky customers aged 18+ online between 26 June and 6 July 2015. The results were weighted to the profile of the population.