Only 10% say the government is handling the issue well

Key takeaways

  • 53% of Britons say the cost of living is a top issue facing the country – the most of any issue we asked about
  • Yet only 9-15% say that any of the major parties see the cost of living as one of the top issues facing the country
  • Only 10% think the government is handling the cost of living well, including only 35% of 2024 Labour voters
  • Just 14% express confidence in a Labour government led by Keir Starmer to be able to make significant improvements to the cost of living by 2029
  • Four in ten Britons say they have struggled at least occasionally to pay for food or energy in the last 3 months
  • Highest numbers of people say they expect the economy (67%) and their household finances (50%) to get worse since Labour took office

New YouGov research shows that the cost of living is still the top issue Britons see facing the country – but that few believe any of the main parties agree. Likewise, there is no sense that one party in particular would be best at handling the issue. This presents an enormous electoral opportunity for any party that can successfully claim ownership of being the ‘party of the cost of living’.

Most Britons see the cost of living as a top issue facing the country, but few think any party does the same

An adapted version of our ‘top issues’ question finds that 53% of Britons say that the cost of living is one of the most important issues facing the country, making it the most common answer by some margin.

Yet when asked using the same list what they believe Labour considers to be the top issues facing the country, only 15% of Britons answered “cost of living”.

In fact, no other party does any better, with 9-13% saying the same of the Tories, Lib Dems, Greens and Reform UK.

Even among those who intend to vote for Labour, no more than 40% think the party considers the cost of living to be a top issue. This falls to 29-31% for those intending to vote Lib Dem, Green or Conservative – about those respective parties – and to 25% for Reform UK voters when asked about the party’s priorities.

This failure of any party to seize ownership of the cost of living can likewise be seen when we asked Britons which party they thought would be best to tackle living costs. The answers are diffuse, with the Tories and Labour highest on 18% and 16% respectively, followed by Reform and the Greens on 13% and 12%.

These answers change little when restricting responses to respondents who say the cost of living is a top issue facing the country.

Among those who backed the Labour party in 2024, only a third (35%) say they are the best party on the cost of living – this compares to 51-53% of Tory and Reform voters for their own respective parties, and 47% likewise for 2024 Green voters.

One in five 2024 Labour voters (19%) now consider the Greens to be best placed on the issue, with the bulk of the rest answering “don’t know” (25%).

In terms of the government’s actual record on the issue, YouGov tracker data shows that just 10% of Britons think they are doing a good job at managing the cost of living. Even among those who currently intend to vote for Labour, only 35% think they are doing well on the issue – outweighed by the 54% who think they are doing poorly.

How is the cost of living affecting Britons?

YouGov cost of living tracker data shows that 42% of Britons say that they are at least occasionally struggling to pay their food bills, with a similar 38% saying the same of their energy bills.

Likewise, 30% say they at least sometimes struggle to afford fuel and 21% housing costs – although note these figures are lower because there are notably more people who are not subject to these bills. If we restrict the samples to represent only those who have to pay those types of bills, we get figures of 40-42% for food, energy and fuel, and 33% for rent and mortgage costs.

In terms of their current budgeting, 42% of Britons say that not only have they tightened their belts, but they expect to have to make further cuts in future. A further 16% say they’ve already had to make cuts to their usual spending, but don’t anticipate having to make more, while 22% say they haven’t made cuts so far, but expect to have to make cuts soon.

Only 16% say they have not made changes and don’t anticipate having to do so.

Public’s household and economic outlook are the worst since Labour came to power

Half of Britons (50%) say that their household finances have got worse over the last 12 months, while only 11% say they have improved.

Looking forward over the next year, identical numbers expect their finances to worsen (50%) and improve (11%). These figures are the worst for the government since taking office, and represent a 5pt increase in the number expecting their financial situation to get worse since the previous wave of this tracker in December.

More still (69%) think the UK economy has got worse over the past year, with 67% expecting a deterioration over the next 12 months. Again, this forward-looking figure is the worst since Labour came to power, up eight points since the start of the year, and is approaching the worst levels seen since YouGov started tracking in 2013 (69-70% in March, June and September 2022, as well as 72% in May 2020).

See the full data on attitudes towards political parties and the cost of living here

See the full data on public perceptions of the economy and cost of living here

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