All parties share the blame for falling living standards shows new poll

More blame Labour than other parties – but Labour has the edge in 7 of 8 key policy areas affecting living standards

All the main parties share the blame for the fall in living standards over recent years although slightly more people hold Labour most responsible, shows a new poll from independent think tank the Resolution Foundation, conducted by YouGov. Yet Labour is judged to be ahead across a range of key policy battlegrounds for the next election such as jobs, low pay and housing.

Almost one in three people (30 per cent) feel Labour is mostly to blame, compared to one in four (25 per cent) who blame either the Conservatives alone (16 per cent) or the Coalition (9 per cent). This is in part explained by the fact that a clear majority of Conservative supporters blame Labour (66%) while relatively few blame ‘all the main parties’ (7 per cent). In contrast, just over half of Labour supporters blame the Conservatives or the Coalition (55 per cent) while one in five (21 per cent) say ‘all the main parties’ are to blame.

More widely, a large minority of all voters, one in five (19 per cent), hold all the major parties equally responsible in the polling and a further 16 per cent think that external factors beyond the control of any party have caused the living standards decline.

The findings are part of a wide-ranging polling project conducted for the Resolution Foundationby YouGov about living standards and the 2015 election.

The poll also finds that people are markedly more pessimistic than they were six months earlier about the ability of the government of the day, given economic growth, to secure steadily rising living standards. Four in 10 (41 per cent) think this is possible – but the same number (41 per cent) believe this is beyond the power of any government and that economic stability with some growth is the best that can be hoped for. When polled in February, half of people (50 per cent) felt that, given growth, the government of the day could secure steadily rising living standards, while one in three (35 per cent) felt that a stable economy and some growth was the best that could be hoped for. This increase in pessimism about the role of government has occurred at the same time as there has been an increase in optimism about people’s own financial situation.

The new polling offers better news for Labour in asking, on specific measures, which future government would be most likely to make a positive difference to living standards. People were presented with a menu of eight possible measures which might improve living standards and asked, which party would best be able to deliver in each area. In seven of the eight areas, Labour does better than any other party. However, in most cases more people feel it will make no difference which party is in power, and the overriding finding is that the electorate is yet to be convinced that any of the parties have good ideas on living standards.

The polling shows that:

· Men are more likely to hold Labour mostly responsible for the decline in living standards – more than one in three men (35 per cent) take this view, compared to one in four (26 per cent of women). Women are more likely than men to say that all the main parties are to blame – almost one in four women (23 per cent) think this, compared to one in six men (16 per cent).

· Almost three out of ten people (29 per cent) think a Labour government would be best able to raise the wages of the low-paid without harming the economy (compared to 12 per cent for the Conservatives, 6 per cent for either a Conservative-Liberal Democrat or Labour-Lib Dem coalition). However just as many, 29 per cent, think it will make no difference which party is in power

· One in four (26 per cent) think a Labour government would best ensure that most people’s wages rise in line with overall economic growth (compared to 15 per cent for the Conservatives, and 5 per cent for either form of coalition). However even more people, 29 per cent, think it will make no difference who is in power

· One in four (24 per cent) think a Labour government would be best at increasing the amount of affordable housing in Britain (compared to 13 per cent for the Conservatives, 7 per cent for a Labour-Lib Dem coalition and 6 per cent for a Conservative-Lib Dem coalition). Even more people, 29 per cent, think it will make no difference who is in power

· The measure where the Conservatives lead Labour is on easing the pressure on households by reducing taxes. Here 22 per cent say a Conservative majority is most likely to achieve this (compared to 18 per cent who say Labour, 6 per cent a Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition and 4 per cent a Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition). Again, the largest proportion – 29 per cent – say it will make no difference which party governs

· Scots are most likely to say it makes no difference which party is in power after 2015. Around one in three Scots (between 31 per cent and 37 per cent) give this answer on every measure , compared to London where between one in five (19 per cent) and fewer than one in three (30 per cent) give the same answer

· Low pay, as well as being identified by respondents as a policy area where a future Labour government is most likely to deliver, is named as the measure on which the party has the strongest ideas. Almost one in six (14 per cent) name this as one of the areas on which the party has good ideas, rising to more than one in four (28 per cent) among Labour supporters. Labour also scores relatively well on whether wages would rise in line with overall growth and getting the right level of welfare support to those who need it – one in ten (11 per cent) of people think Labour has good ideas in these areas, rising to 24 per cent and 21 per cent respectively among Labour supporters.

· Labour does less well on ideas to reduce household bills and to deliver good, affordable childcare. Only a handful of people (5 per cent and 4 per cent respectively) name these as areas where Labour has good ideas. And 4 in 10 people (39 per cent) say the party has no good ideas on any of the eight measures – though this is slightly lower than both Conservatives (43 per cent) and Liberal Democrats (47 per cent)

Gavin Kelly, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, said:

“It’s clear that living standards will dominate the 2015 election – what happens to wages, inflation and disposable income will matter at least as much as any changes to GDP figures.

“There will of course be a blame-game about who is most responsible for the big squeeze that has dominated this parliament. But the key question is whether any of the parties can convince a deeply sceptical public that they have credible policies that will make a significant difference to their financial situation over the next five years.”

Peter Kellner, president of YouGov, said:

“The public are inclined to share the blame across the parties for the big squeeze on living standards though they still point the finger at Labour more than anyone else. That’s not entirely surprising given wider attitudes to recession, the deficit and spending. It’s also noticeable that Conservative supporters are much more likely to blame Labour, while Labour supporters are more likely to share blame among the parties.”

ENDS

Notes

1. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,886 GB adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 27^th-28 ^th August. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults aged 18+

2. Previous polling by YouGov as an earlier part of the same project was conducted in February under the same terms and with a similar sample size.

3. In the latest round of polling, respondents were offered a menu of eight specific measures to improve living standards and asked which government, by 2015 would be most likely to achieve them. The eight measures were: ensuring that the right level of welfare benefits go to those who genuinely need help; increasing the amount of affordable housing in Britain, delivering a system of affordable and high-quality childcare that supports working parents, easing the pressure on low and middle households by reducing taxes, making it easier for more people to move into employment, putting downward pressure on the cost of living so that household bills are as low as possible, helping raise the pay of low-wage workers without damaging the overall economy. There were also options for “It won’t much make difference regardless of which party is running the government” and “don’t know”.

4. Results from the latest round of polling are being released in three parts – to coincide with each of the main party conferences. Further details of the first release, at the Liberal Democrat conference, can be seen here http://www.slideshare.net/ResolutionFoundation/living-standards-the-2015-challenge-liberal-democrats?ref=http://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/living-standards-2015-challenge-danny-alexander-mp/

5. The Resolution Foundation is an independent policy and research organisation which works to improve the lives of people on low to middle incomes – more than 10 million British adults.