Eight out of ten people feel no better off since Labour came to power, LBC poll reveals

20 March 2025, 09:03

More than 80% of people have seen no improvement in their finances since the election of the Labour government eight months ago, a new poll for LBC has found.

Sir Keir Starmer placed putting more cash in working people’s pockets at the forefront of his pitch to the country last year, with raising living standards being the first of the six milestones he unveiled in December.

Yet days before the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, delivers her crucial Spring Statement, a damning poll by Ipsos, shared exclusively with LBC, calls into question the progress the new government has made in tackling the cost-of-living crisis.

Far from improving the lot of working people, the new data suggests more than four in ten voters feel worse off since Labour’s emphatic general election victory, with a similar number saying that they have noted no improvement in their finances.

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Of the 1,000 people surveyed, moreover, just 14% said things had got better for them financially.

In their attempts to reduce the burden on working people, the government has committed to no rises in the rate of income tax, employee national insurance contributions and Value Added Tax over the course of the parliament, as well as increasing the minimum wage to £12.21 per hour from April.

Ms Reeves has also pledged to end the freeze on income tax thresholds, but critics have noted that the point at which people start paying tax will not actually increase until 2029.

Next month, households face a vicious combination of bill increases, threatening to pile further hardship on families.

The vast majority (88%) of households in England will be charged the maximum increase in council tax of 4.99% - adding an average of £109 to a typical band D bill - whilst water and electricity bills are also set to soar by over £100 each.

Businesses are also set to feel the pinch in what is being dubbed as “Awful April”.

From April 6th, employer national insurance contributions will rise by 1.2 percentage points to 15%.

LBC’s data showed there was considerable concern about the imminent impact of this increase, with 46% expecting it to result in rising prices and 41% believing it will lead to lower wages for workers.

There was also a big jump in the number of people worried that the taxes on businesses are becoming too burdensome. Nearly half of respondents said taxes on companies should be lower to propel job creation and economic growth.

It comes as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) downgraded their growth forecast for the UK economy to 1.4% from 1.7% earlier this week.

The prime minister locked horns with Kemi Badenoch on the economy during yesterday’s PMQs, with the Conservative leader claiming Labour’s struggles meant next week’s statement amounts to an “emergency budget”.

Sir Keir, however, insisted that the Labour party is rebuilding the economy after 14 years of Tory rule.

But Labour strategists are worried about the electoral impact if people don’t start to feel better off financially.

Reacting to the poll, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey told LBC he is witnessing a significant amount of Labour regret on the doorstep - and that this would be reflected in May’s local elections.

“We’re seeing a huge amount of Labour regret. Things like the winter fuel payment - people didn’t expect that from the Labour party. There’s a lot of worry [and] even Labour MPs are getting alarmed,” Sir Ed said.

The Liberal Democrat leader continued: “We think we can make gains from the Conservatives and, increasingly, with the disappointment we are seeing with Labour, we think we can make gains from Labour as well.”

A Labour spokesperson said: “Labour inherited unprecedented challenges from the Conservatives, with crumbling public services and crippled public finances. There are no overnight fixes but the work of change has begun.

“Millions of workers will see a pay boost from April through our increase to the minimum wage. But we know there’s more to do.

“This Labour government’s Plan for Change is kickstarting economic growth and we are taking the long-term decisions, to make people better off across the country.”