What does the UK think of Budget 2023? Poll shows Britons unconvinced it will leave country better off

Most Britons do not believe the latest Budget will make a big difference to either their families, or the country, but the proposed policies have seen to number of people intending to vote Tory climb.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled his new budget for 2023 on Wednesday, with major announcements made around pensions, childcare and energy costs. The cost of living has placed huge pressure on millions of households across the UK, and many of the new - and extended - policies introduced by Hunt took aim at rising bills.

The UK would avoid a technical recession, and despite the economic pressure, the Chancellor insisted that the effects of the 2023 Budget will “prove the doubters wrong”.

According to new polls by market research company YouGov, published on social media, Britons were not so certain. When asked whether the Budget would leave the country better or worse off, 46% said it would be no different, while 23% believed it would leave the UK worse off, and just 13% better off.

In terms of the Budget's impact on families, 'no different' still had the lion's share of votes at 56%, while a quarter of voters believed it would leave their family worse off, and just 6% felt it would leave them better off.

A large majority of Britons found some of the Budget measures targeting the cost of living crisis to be a “good idea”. The most popular among those asked about were maintaining the domestic cap on energy prices, with 85% of those quizzed voting in favour. Freezing petrol and diesel tax came in second with a 79% approval rating, while extension of free childcare polled at 71%.

Creating new investment zones across the UK and reducing taxes on beer and cider were less popular measures, with 36% and 35% of those polled voting in favour respectively - while 49% said the alcohol tax cuts were the wrong priority for the present time.

Britons were divided over whether the new budget's measures were fair or not, with 31% finding them fair, and 33% not fair.

YouGov also polled Britons on who they were most likely to vote for in the next Westminster elections. Conservative held 27% of the intended votes, up 4% from earlier this month. Labour had the highest number of potential voters at 46% of those polled, although its share had risen just 1% on the last poll - held on 7-8 March.

The SNP held firm at 4% of the vote, while the Liberal Democrats (now 9%), Reform UK (now 6%), and Green (now 6%) all lost a percentage point each to Labour and the Tories.