Poll: Labour Even with Tories on Taxation

A poll this week puts the Conservatives and Labour even in terms of public trust on taxation. 

When asked which party they thought would best handle the issue of taxation, respondents to the latest YouGov/Sun poll were evenly split with 28 per cent favouring the Conservatives and 28 percent favouring Labour.

Although these findings are hardly an endorsement of Labour’s taxation policy, they will nevertheless come as a blow to the Conservatives, who are traditionally seen as a party who can be trusted to keep taxes low, compared to the high-tax socialism of their opponents.

Despite a promise to cut taxes for the lowest paid, and hints that he may freeze alcohol duty, British Chancellor George Osborne clearly has much further to go if he is to convince voters that the government can be trusted on taxation.

In addition, despite the hopes of some on the Left of the party, the promise to raise the minimum wage has had little impact on the party’s standing, with Labour still holding a two percent lead on employment issues.

More generally, according to the poll, Labour have a seven-point lead over the Conservatives in terms of electoral preference. The Conservatives are on 33 percent (unchanged), Labour on 40 (+1), the Lib Dems on 9 (unchanged) and UKIP on 11 (-1).