If we didn’t know it already, it has been confirmed again: George Osborne’s decision to scrap the top rate of tax in tomorrow’s Budget is going to be a very, very hard sell.
Today’s Guardian/ICM poll reinforces the picture shown by every other poll on the subject — voters back the 50p tax. It found that 67 per cent of voters want to retain the top rate, which applies to people earning over £150,000 a year. Particularly noteworthy is the strong support the 50p rate found among Conservative voters, with 65 per cent backing it. This is significantly more than the 45 per cent of Tory voters who expressed support for the top tax rate in Sunday’s YouGov poll.
The line from the Treasury has been that despite the scrapping of the 50p tax rate (if it goes ahead), the Budget will make the rich pay. And ministers will be hoping the public believe them, because the overwhelming message from this poll is that voters want to hammer the rich. A total of 62 per cent said they would like to see new property taxes, such as the mansion tax on properties worth more than £1m. The policy, touted by Liberal Democrats, is not expected to be included in tomorrow’s Budget.
The poll presents a mixed picture for Labour. The party can take heart from the fact that on the detail of policy, the public is behind them. Just 19 per cent of voters supported the Liberal Democrats’ top priority of raising the personal allowance, compared with 23 per cent who support cuts to fuel duty and 30 per cent who back a VAT reduction, both policies championed by the shadow chancellor Ed Balls. Retaining the top rate of tax is another Labour policy with strong public support.
Even the broader aim of austerity is losing public support. Just nine per cent of respondents agreed with the statement that Osborne should “keep any extra money in order to pay off the deficit”, while 19 per cent said that the single best thing he could do would be to relax his plans for spending and benefit cuts.
Yet this does not translate into support for Labour. The Tories regained a lead, with a top-line figure of 39 per cent (up three points), compared with Labour on 36 (down one) — although it is worth noting that this is within the margin of error. Not only that, but despite Labour policies being in line with public opinion, the government retains a strong lead on economic competence. The poll found that 42 per cent trust Osborne and David Cameron, compared with just 25 per cent who prefer Balls and Ed Miliband — a 17 point gap.
The Budget presents a serious political challenge for Osborne. It remains to be seen how much it will take for the public to turn away from the coalition.
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