We're starting to get a better picture of what the public think about the Tory spending cuts proposed by George Osborne on Tuesday. The BBC's Daily Politics show has just put out some figures from ComRes and the key one shows voters are split on the plan for a public sector pay freeze.
Osborne said that all public sector workers earning more than £18,000 – that's 4 million people – ought to have a pay freeze in 2011. ComRes is the first organisation to poll on this, asking people if this was "a good way to help reduce government debt" – 49% said yes and 48% said no.
The Tories will probably be relieved, because the poll does at least suggest that there is no great public backlash against the idea, although pedants will note that the question did not actually ask whether voters agreed that the pay freeze should go ahead.
The other key Tory proposal (unveiled on Monday night, before Osborne's speech) was for the state pension age to be increased to 66, 10 years ahead of schedule. A YouGov poll published on Wednesday showed voters split 44/44 on this proposal. ComRes asked whether this was "a good way to reduce government debt" and it found a narrow majority against the proposal – 45% of respondents said they were in favour, but 52% said they were against.
So, the two key Tory proposals aren't exactly popular. But they're not massively unpopular either.
There are other findings in the ComRes survey which are better for Osborne and David Cameron. The Tories are more trusted than Labour on creating the conditions for a strong economic recovery (12 points ahead), on cutting spending without harming public services (four points ahead) and on setting fair taxes (six points ahead). Labour is ahead on protecting jobs (five points).
ComRes found there was strong support for the Tory plan to stop families earning more than £50,000 a year getting child tax credit (72% for, 25% against). No great surprise there.
But there was an interesting finding on the Tory proposal to raise the inheritance tax threshold to £1m. Labour present this as a tax cut for millionaires (on the grounds, I suppose, that anyone inheriting a house worth £999,999 probably qualifies as a millionaire) and, described in those terms, the proposal seems to go down very badly with the public.
But ComRes flipped the proposition and asked voters whether they agreed that inheritance tax should only apply to property worth more than £1m. Put like this, the Tory idea is popular, with 71% saying inheritance tax should only apply to £1m homes, and only 26% disagreeing.
