The Chancellor Has an Uphill Task This Week

 The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will this week deliver her spring forecast against a backdrop of difficult public finances to say the least, anemic growth at best and concerns about the prospect of more spending cuts by government departments.

Against this background, polling by Opinium demonstrates the challenge the Chancellor now faces.

In respect of approval ratings, 53% of those questioned disapprove of the job Reeves is doing, with just 16% approving, giving her a net approval rating of -37 which, Opinium notes, makes her “by some margin the least popular cabinet minister tested.”

Looking ahead to the next 12 months, 57% said they felt the economy will get worse, with 41% believing their own personal finances will get worse.

When it comes to key metrics, Labour leads the Conservatives by 9% when it comes to who the public thinks is best positioned to improve public services, whilst Labour has a 4% lead when it comes to which party is likely to spend government money most efficiently.

Other than that, Opinium suggests that on key policy areas including which party is best to bring down the national debt and the deficit, improve people’s personal finances, run the economy, set tax levels and improve conditions for businesses, the Conservatives now lead the Labour Party.

What is more, 26% of those polled said they feel Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt handled the economy best compared to 21% saying that Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have handled the economy better. Opinium continues: “However, 38% think neither of them have handled it best. Fewer than half of 2024 Labour voters (47%) think their government is handling the economy better than the last Conservative administration.”

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