𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Approval ratings for both Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer have hit “an all-time low” as the public loses confidence in the government. New polling found three quarters of voters, 76%, have little or no confidence in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s ability to manage the economy. And even among people who voted Labour in last year’s general election, nearly half – 48% – say they lack confidence in the Chancellor.

The pre-Budget survey, by More in Commons, found voters would even prefer to bring back the last Conservative government, despite the chaos of its final few years. It found 68% of voters thin former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who later became Prime Minister, would be a batter Chancellor than Ms Reeves, and 65% said the same about former Tory Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. On top of that, 63% say Rishi Sunak would make a better Prime Minister than Sir Keir – and that includes 27% of Labour voters.

The damning findings suggest that the nation has little confidence in Labour as Ms Reeves prepares to deliver a tax-raising budget. But the polling also found some sympathy for the Chancellor, with voters recognising she faces difficult choices given the dire state of the economy.

The More in Common report said: “Four years since the term ‘cost of living crisis’ entered our everyday vocabulary. With inflation subdued and the pandemic further behind us, the cost of living no longer garners headlines as it did in 2021.

“Yet for the public it remains front of mind, and continues to shape daily life.”

It warned 47% of people say they are “cutting down on luxuries” to cope with the cost of living, and 43% are going out less to restaurants, pubs and the cinema.

A worrying 39%, nearky four in ten, are cutting down on electricity or heating. And more than a fifth, 22%, have gone into debt or borrowed from friends or family members.

But many voters are pessimistic about the future – with 57% saying they are unsure whether the cost of living crisis will ever end. Growth remains the Government’s “number one priority”, a spokesman said amid reports that the Office for Budget Responsibility has downgraded its forecasts.

Asked about the prospect of downgraded forecasts, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “I’m not going to get ahead of Wednesday. There’s only a couple of days to wait for that. This is a Budget that will build a fairer, more prosperous Britain with an economy that works for everyone… growth remains our number one priority.”

Downing Street said the welfare system “isn’t fair or sustainable” but declined to be drawn on whether the benefits Bill would be reduced at the Budget.

Asked whether cuts would be made, the spokesman said: “We will stick to our tough spending plans, clamp down on Government waste, and on welfare specifically we’ve been clear that the current welfare system isn’t fair or sustainable and we’re delivering reforms to change that.”