Sky Data poll: Public ‘ready for change’ as UK economy is ‘unfair’ and ‘not working’

The public does not think the UK economy is working for young people, or those living outside the south of England, a study by Sky Data and the think tank IPPR has revealed.

Two in three (67%) think the economy works badly for young people, while 53% believe it works badly for people outside the south.

Seven in ten (70%) say the economy does not work for people who do not own a home – and 74% say the same for people born into poor families.

Just 22% of people think the way the economy works is fair, with 48% saying it is unfair – rising to 63% among those aged under the age of 35.

And 53% think the way the economy works has become less fair over the last decade, with Conservative voters more likely to say the economy has become less fair (38%) than more fair (15%).

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The findings come as IPPR’s Commission on Economic Justice – backed by leading figures including the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby – called for “fundamental reform” of an economy that is “not working”.

Among the reforms supported by the majority of the British public are:

• Regulating companies like Google and Facebook in a similar way to broadcasters (84%)
• A new corporation tax for companies who misleadingly report zero profits in the UK (83%)
• An increase in the minimum wage to £8.75 per hour (80% support)
• Making it compulsory to have workers on company boards (63%)
• Asking the Bank of England to adopt policies to keep house prices from rising (60%)
• A higher minimum wage for zero hours contracts at 20% above the standard minimum wage (56%)
• Establishing a publicly owned investment bank (55%)
• Greater government borrowing and investment (52%)
• Raising capital gains tax to the same rate as income tax (50%)

Catherine Colebrook, chief economist to the Commission on Economic Justice at IPPR, said: “This new polling data shows the disillusionment people feel with the economy as it works now.

“Old and young, Conservative and Labour, Leave and Remain – among all groups, the prevailing sense is that the economy does not work in a fair way and that it is becoming increasingly unfair over time.

“There is remarkable support for fundamental reform, suggesting the British people are ready for a new kind of economy and a new kind of economic policy.”

Sky Data interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,330 Sky customers online 17-20 August 2018. Data are weighted to the profile of the population. Sky Data is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.

For full Sky Data tables, please click here.

(c) Sky News 2018: Sky Data poll: Public ‘ready for change’ as UK economy is ‘unfair’ and ‘not working’