While most Britons want more money for the military, the only approach a majority of the public support from our list is taxing the rich

Key takeaways

  • 56% of Britons say defence spending should be increased
  • Tories, Reform, and older people most likely to want higher defence spending
  • Majority of Britons raising Additional tax rate to spend more on the military, a plurality support increasing Higher tax rate or cutting out of work benefits
  • Public don’t support any other measures from our list, including measures that affect Basic tax rate, state pensions, or public services spending
  • Even those who want greater military spending broadly don’t support most of the trade-offs we asked about

The issue of defence has become a more pressing part of the agenda in Europe in recent years, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Donald Trump’s threats against Greenland demonstrating that continental security can no longer be taken for granted.

Yet many see the government’s reaction to this situation as inadequate. Lord Robertson – formerly defence secretary under Tony Blair and NATO secretary general from 1999-2003 – was scathing in his recent criticism of the government’s handling of the matter, branding it “corrosive complacency”.

New YouGov data likewise shows that the public want more funding to be directed to the military. Most Britons (56%) say that defence spending should be increased – only 6% think it should be cut, while 23% say it should remain about the same.

Support for increasing defence spending is particularly high among Conservative (78%) and Reform voters (76%), as well as older Britons: 64% among 50-64 year olds and 76% among the over-65s. Men are also notably more likely to want to see defence spending increased than women (62% vs 50%).

Increasing defence spending is still the majority view among Labour and Lib Dem voters (53-56%), but drops to only 30% among Greens – a similar figure to that seen among 18-24 year olds (31%).

Britons would tax the rich and cut unemployment benefit to fund the armed forces – but are reluctant to touch pensions, public services, or tax on everyday people

Finding the funds to build up defence spending will require trade offs. Lord Robertson took aim specifically at Britain’s “ever-expanding welfare budget” – but what are the public willing to sacrifice in order to give more resources to the military.

From our list of 12 options, only three garner net support among the general population, and only one by a convincing margin: raising income tax on the very richest. A majority of Britons (56%) support raising the Additional rate of income tax in order to fund more money for the military, compared to 26% who would not support doing so, which gives a +30 level of net support.

By much narrower margins, there is also net public support for raising the Higher rate of income tax to increase military funding (+7), and to reduce welfare spending for people who are out of work (+6).

While there is greater support for these measures among Britons who say defence spending should be increased, there is only one additional option this group are willing to back in order to send more money to the armed forces. That is reducing spending on renewable energy, which is backed by a rate of 51% to 36% (for a net score of +15).

Otherwise there is resistance to all other proposals, often strongly.

Redirecting spending from core public services is clearly off the table, with 81% of Britons opposing cutting NHS funds and 75% unwilling to reduce the schools budget to benefit the military. These figures are almost identical among those who specifically say defence spending needs to be increased.

While Lord Robertson might be pleased to see a plurality of Britons support cutting out of work benefits in favour of defence, this accounts for only about a single-digit share of the welfare budget.

There is far less appetite for touching the much larger portions of welfare spending on people with disabilities and those in low-paid jobs. Two thirds of Britons (66%) oppose reducing the former as a trade-off for greater defence spending, while 54% say the same of in-work benefits – among those who want to see more money for the armed forces, these figures are only marginally lower (60% and 48% respectively).

State pension spending has similar shibboleth status. Two thirds (68%) refuse to countenance freezing the state pension rate in order to direct more money to the military, while 58% say the same for removing the triple lock. These figures are identical among those who say the UK defence budget should be increased.

With Rachel Reeves having backed down from increasing the basic rate of income tax last year, 61% of Britons do not think this an appropriate lever for unlocking more cash for defence (57% among those who say armed forces funding should be increased).

Finally, putting more money into the military via increased government borrowing is also off the table, with 52% of Britons opposed – including 47% of those who want to see defence spending increased.

These results should not come as a surprise, as they are fully consistent with recent YouGov research on public spending in general, and military spending in particular. As Lord Robertson noted, the public will need to face ‘uncomfortable facts’ for the UK to rebuild its deterrence, and the government may face an uphill battle to convince the public that such sacrifices are necessary.

See the full results here

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