The Guardian have released a major poll on political attitudes across Europe. They have focused on findings that most Europeans are pessimistic about the future, have little trust in their governments and see themselves as socially liberal. What is striking looking at the full data though, is that it shows broad support for spending cuts. Most people in Britain for example, think that the government has been spending too much and that it needs to cut spending to address the deficit.
UKUncut and the unions argue that there is no need to cut spending. I tangled with Ken Livingstone at one point when he suggested that the seriousness of the deficit was a myth, you can see the debate on YouTube here. To the extent the country does need to get the deficit under control they argue the answer isn't spending cuts but increasing revenue. While the idea of solving all our problems by launching a moral crusade against tax dodgers might sound appealing, this poll shows most people take a more sensible view of the issue and understand cuts are necessary. They want a growth strategy too, and expect that to be the first priority, but that doesn't mean they don't support cuts as a complement too or part of that. It's important that policymakers and the media understand there is a quiet but massive majority out there who know cuts are right and necessary, even if they are at times tough.
Here are four key results:
[caption id="attachment_26246" align="alignnone" width="472" caption="Which of the following best describes your attitude towards public spending cuts?"]
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[caption id="attachment_26247" align="alignnone" width="469" caption="Please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. The government needs to focus on reducing the national debt by cutting public spending."]
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[caption id="attachment_26248" align="alignnone" width="469" caption="Please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. The government has been spending too much money."]
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[caption id="attachment_26249" align="alignnone" width="464" caption="Please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. I am worried about the amount of money the government is borrowing."]
[/caption]The Guardian have released a major poll on political attitudes across Europe. They have focused on findings that most Europeans are pessimistic about the future, have little trust in their governments and see themselves as socially liberal. What is striking looking at the full data though, is that it shows broad support for spending cuts. Most people in Britain for example, think that the government has been spending too much and that it needs to cut spending to address the deficit.
UKUncut and the unions argue that there is no need to cut spending. I tangled with Ken Livingstone at one point when he suggested that the seriousness of the deficit was a myth, you can see the debate on YouTube here. To the extent the country does need to get the deficit under control they argue the answer isn't spending cuts but increasing revenue. While the idea of solving all our problems by launching a moral crusade against tax dodgers might sound appealing, this poll shows most people take a more sensible view of the issue and understand cuts are necessary. They want a growth strategy too, and expect that to be the first priority, but that doesn't mean they don't support cuts as a complement too or part of that. It's important that policymakers and the media understand there is a quiet but massive majority out there who know cuts are right and necessary, even if they are at times tough.
Here are four key results:
[caption id="attachment_26246" align="alignnone" width="472" caption="Which of the following best describes your attitude towards public spending cuts?"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_26247" align="alignnone" width="469" caption="Please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. The government needs to focus on reducing the national debt by cutting public spending."][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_26248" align="alignnone" width="469" caption="Please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. The government has been spending too much money."][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_26249" align="alignnone" width="464" caption="Please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. I am worried about the amount of money the government is borrowing."][/caption]
UKUncut and the unions argue that there is no need to cut spending. I tangled with Ken Livingstone at one point when he suggested that the seriousness of the deficit was a myth, you can see the debate on YouTube here. To the extent the country does need to get the deficit under control they argue the answer isn't spending cuts but increasing revenue. While the idea of solving all our problems by launching a moral crusade against tax dodgers might sound appealing, this poll shows most people take a more sensible view of the issue and understand cuts are necessary. They want a growth strategy too, and expect that to be the first priority, but that doesn't mean they don't support cuts as a complement too or part of that. It's important that policymakers and the media understand there is a quiet but massive majority out there who know cuts are right and necessary, even if they are at times tough.
Here are four key results:
[caption id="attachment_26246" align="alignnone" width="472" caption="Which of the following best describes your attitude towards public spending cuts?"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_26247" align="alignnone" width="469" caption="Please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. The government needs to focus on reducing the national debt by cutting public spending."]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_26248" align="alignnone" width="469" caption="Please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. The government has been spending too much money."]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_26249" align="alignnone" width="464" caption="Please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. I am worried about the amount of money the government is borrowing."]
[/caption]The Guardian have released a major poll on political attitudes across Europe. They have focused on findings that most Europeans are pessimistic about the future, have little trust in their governments and see themselves as socially liberal. What is striking looking at the full data though, is that it shows broad support for spending cuts. Most people in Britain for example, think that the government has been spending too much and that it needs to cut spending to address the deficit.UKUncut and the unions argue that there is no need to cut spending. I tangled with Ken Livingstone at one point when he suggested that the seriousness of the deficit was a myth, you can see the debate on YouTube here. To the extent the country does need to get the deficit under control they argue the answer isn't spending cuts but increasing revenue. While the idea of solving all our problems by launching a moral crusade against tax dodgers might sound appealing, this poll shows most people take a more sensible view of the issue and understand cuts are necessary. They want a growth strategy too, and expect that to be the first priority, but that doesn't mean they don't support cuts as a complement too or part of that. It's important that policymakers and the media understand there is a quiet but massive majority out there who know cuts are right and necessary, even if they are at times tough.
Here are four key results:
[caption id="attachment_26246" align="alignnone" width="472" caption="Which of the following best describes your attitude towards public spending cuts?"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_26247" align="alignnone" width="469" caption="Please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. The government needs to focus on reducing the national debt by cutting public spending."]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_26248" align="alignnone" width="469" caption="Please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. The government has been spending too much money."]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_26249" align="alignnone" width="464" caption="Please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. I am worried about the amount of money the government is borrowing."]
[/caption]