Britain's Best Days Are Behind Us, Say Voters

A majority of voters believe “nothing in Britain really works” and say Rishi Sunak’s party has made public services worse, according to an exclusive new poll

A majority of British people believe that Britain’s best days are behind it, according to an exclusive new poll for the Byline Supplement, which finds that voters believe “nothing in Britain really works any more” under Rishi Sunak's Conservative Government.

The poll, conducted by pollsters We Think, found that 52% of voters agree with the statement that “Britain’s best days are behind it”, with 58% also agreeing that “nothing in Britain really works any more”, with just 13% disagreeing.

The overwhelming public dissatisfaction with the state of the country, is mirrored in perceptions of the Conservative Government’s handling of public services over the past 13 years.

61% of voters say that, overall, public services have got worse under the Conservatives, with just 7% saying they have got better.

This includes 67% who say the NHS has got worse and 54% who say schools have got worse.

The poll also found that voters disbelieve Rishi Sunak’s claim to have brought down crime, with 49% saying it has actually increased, compared to just 8% who believe it has come down. Government claims to have brought down crime since 2010 are based on excluding fraud and online crimes from the data.

Public perceptions of the Government’s handling of the economy is also low, according to our poll.

53% say the UK is doing worse than other similar countries economically, compared to just 9% who believe claims that Britain is doing better than comparable nations.

The overall perception of the Government’s poor performance appears to have also worsened public opinion of the Prime Minister himself. According to our poll 48% of voters say their impression of Rishi Sunak has gone downhill since he first became PM, compared to just 10% who say their impression of him has improved.

Even some remaining Conservative voters appear to be losing faith in the PM with one-in-five (18%) saying their view of him has got worse since he entered Downing Street.

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Crumbling Support for Austerity

The collapsing schools scandal, this week, coincides with an apparent crumbling support for the austerity agenda that began under the Conservative government of David Cameron.

Our poll found that 67% of voters believe the Conservatives have cut funding for public services “too much” since 2010, compared to just 33% who disagree. Even among Conservative voters, 39% believe the party has cut back public spending too much.

The findings come as Keir Starmer comes under pressure to spell out to what extent the Labour Party will restore investment in public services should he make it into Downing Street.

This week the Labour leader criticised Sunak for taking a “sticking plaster” approach to maintaining schools, after more than a hundred school buildings were identified as presenting a “critical risk” to the safety of children and teachers.

However, Labour representatives have so far resisted pressure to commit to restoring the party’s previous school building plans if elected next year, insisting that it would be “irresponsible” to spell out their spending plans this far in advance.

The party has also refused to back new tax rises on the wealthiest Brits in order to fund increased spending on public services, with the Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves insisting this week that her priority is to “grow the economy” instead.