In a new poll conducted for Conservative Way Forward, we asked 526 Conservative Party members about their tax preferences.
The poll is covered by:
Polls of Conservative Party members come with uncertainty about group sizes (e.g., the proportion of current members who voted Leave and Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum). Caution is recommended when interpreting the numbers, especially for small groups. In addition, the sample size is not as large as in normal nationally representative samples, leading to a greater margin of error.
Q1. Generally, how would you describe the level of taxes in Britain today? (By taxes we mean all taxes together, including national insurance, income tax, VAT, and all the rest)
|
Unweighted |
Weighted |
Taxes are much too low |
Taxes are somewhat low |
Taxes are about right |
Taxes are somewhat high |
Taxes are much too high |
Prefer not to say |
Don’t know |
Total |
| Overall |
| Conservative Party Members |
526 |
526 |
5% |
2% |
22% |
39% |
27% |
3% |
3% |
100% |
| Gender |
| Female |
215 |
177 |
2% |
4% |
24% |
38% |
24% |
4% |
4% |
100% |
| Male |
311 |
349 |
6% |
1% |
21% |
40% |
28% |
2% |
3% |
100% |
| Age |
| 18-49 |
133 |
191 |
8% |
3% |
20% |
31% |
32% |
3% |
4% |
100% |
| 50-64 |
162 |
130 |
4% |
2% |
22% |
43% |
24% |
2% |
3% |
100% |
| 65+ |
231 |
205 |
2% |
2% |
24% |
43% |
23% |
3% |
3% |
100% |
| Region |
| England |
488 |
470 |
5% |
2% |
21% |
39% |
26% |
3% |
4% |
100% |
| Scotland/Wales |
38 |
56 |
4% |
3% |
26% |
36% |
29% |
2% |
– |
100% |
| 2016 Brexit referendum |
| Leave |
394 |
389 |
4% |
2% |
21% |
39% |
28% |
3% |
3% |
100% |
| Remain |
89 |
110 |
6% |
2% |
26% |
41% |
19% |
2% |
4% |
100% |
Q2. Which of the following comes closest to your view?
|
Unweighted |
Weighted |
Government should cut the amount of tax people pay and spend less |
Government should increase the amount of tax people pay and spend more |
Government should keep the amount of tax and spending as they are now |
Prefer not to say |
Don’t know |
Total |
| Overall |
| Conservative Party Members |
526 |
526 |
55% |
7% |
24% |
4% |
10% |
100% |
| Gender |
| Female |
215 |
177 |
49% |
7% |
24% |
5% |
15% |
100% |
| Male |
311 |
349 |
58% |
7% |
24% |
3% |
8% |
100% |
| Age |
| 18-49 |
133 |
191 |
61% |
8% |
19% |
2% |
9% |
100% |
| 50-64 |
162 |
130 |
55% |
10% |
24% |
3% |
7% |
100% |
| 65+ |
231 |
205 |
48% |
4% |
29% |
5% |
13% |
100% |
| Region |
| England |
488 |
470 |
56% |
7% |
24% |
4% |
9% |
100% |
| Scotland/Wales |
38 |
56 |
41% |
6% |
29% |
2% |
22% |
100% |
| 2016 Brexit referendum |
| Leave |
394 |
389 |
58% |
6% |
22% |
4% |
10% |
100% |
| Remain |
89 |
110 |
45% |
10% |
32% |
3% |
11% |
100% |
Q3. It has been estimated that the government spends millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to fund politically motivated groups. For example, UK Research and Innovation, the academic funding body, spends more than £4 million a year on the distribution of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion grants to universities.
Do you agree or disagree that the government should give less money to these kinds of groups to help deliver tax cuts?
|
Unweighted |
Weighted |
Completely agree |
Somewhat agree |
Neither agree nor disagree |
Somewhat disagree |
Completely disagree |
Prefer not to say |
Don’t know |
Total |
| Overall |
| Conservative Party Members |
526 |
526 |
51% |
16% |
8% |
8% |
10% |
2% |
4% |
100% |
| Gender |
| Female |
215 |
177 |
42% |
14% |
12% |
13% |
8% |
4% |
6% |
100% |
| Male |
311 |
349 |
56% |
18% |
7% |
5% |
11% |
1% |
3% |
100% |
| Age |
| 18-49 |
133 |
191 |
46% |
16% |
9% |
12% |
11% |
2% |
5% |
100% |
| 50-64 |
162 |
130 |
58% |
13% |
10% |
5% |
8% |
2% |
5% |
100% |
| 65+ |
231 |
205 |
52% |
19% |
8% |
5% |
10% |
3% |
4% |
100% |
| Region |
| England |
488 |
470 |
52% |
16% |
8% |
8% |
10% |
2% |
4% |
100% |
| Scotland/Wales |
38 |
56 |
43% |
23% |
16% |
3% |
7% |
2% |
6% |
100% |
| 2016 Brexit referendum |
| Leave |
394 |
389 |
58% |
12% |
8% |
7% |
9% |
2% |
4% |
100% |
| Remain |
89 |
110 |
31% |
30% |
11% |
9% |
11% |
2% |
5% |
100% |
Q4. Both the candidates to be Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister have said they want to cut taxes. If you had to choose how the government delivers these tax cuts, which of the following would you choose?
|
Unweighted |
Weighted |
Government should lower taxes by reducing the amount of money it spends on public services |
Government should lower taxes by increasing the amount of money Britain borrows and adding it to our national debt |
Prefer not to say |
Don’t know |
Total |
| Overall |
| Conservative Party Members |
526 |
526 |
47% |
27% |
8% |
18% |
100% |
| Gender |
| Female |
215 |
177 |
34% |
31% |
10% |
25% |
100% |
| Male |
311 |
349 |
53% |
25% |
8% |
14% |
100% |
| Age |
| 18-49 |
133 |
191 |
48% |
33% |
7% |
11% |
100% |
| 50-64 |
162 |
130 |
47% |
25% |
7% |
21% |
100% |
| 65+ |
231 |
205 |
45% |
23% |
11% |
21% |
100% |
| Region |
| England |
488 |
470 |
47% |
28% |
7% |
18% |
100% |
| Scotland/Wales |
38 |
56 |
45% |
22% |
16% |
17% |
100% |
| 2016 Brexit referendum |
| Leave |
394 |
389 |
47% |
26% |
9% |
17% |
100% |
| Remain |
89 |
110 |
47% |
31% |
6% |
16% |
100% |
Q5. The Office for Budget Responsibility recently forecast that Britain’s public finances are on an unsustainable long-term path with a debt burden that could more than treble in fifty years’ time.
How concerned are you that excessive government borrowing and spending could bankrupt Britain in the years ahead?
|
Unweighted |
Weighted |
Not concerned at all |
Slightly concerned |
Somewhat concerned |
Very concerned |
Prefer not to say |
Don’t know |
Total |
| Overall |
| Conservative Party Members |
526 |
526 |
18% |
21% |
28% |
24% |
3% |
6% |
100% |
| Gender |
| Female |
215 |
177 |
11% |
22% |
30% |
25% |
5% |
7% |
100% |
| Male |
311 |
349 |
22% |
21% |
26% |
24% |
2% |
6% |
100% |
| Age |
| 18-49 |
133 |
191 |
22% |
20% |
22% |
26% |
1% |
9% |
100% |
| 50-64 |
162 |
130 |
13% |
24% |
31% |
25% |
3% |
5% |
100% |
| 65+ |
231 |
205 |
17% |
21% |
31% |
22% |
4% |
5% |
100% |
| Region |
| England |
488 |
470 |
19% |
21% |
28% |
24% |
3% |
6% |
100% |
| Scotland/Wales |
38 |
56 |
12% |
27% |
27% |
26% |
2% |
6% |
100% |
| 2016 Brexit referendum |
| Leave |
394 |
389 |
18% |
23% |
27% |
25% |
3% |
5% |
100% |
| Remain |
89 |
110 |
15% |
20% |
33% |
21% |
2% |
9% |
100% |
Tables
Full tables are available here.
