News and insights

Almost six in ten Britons think the country is heading in the wrong direction

23 February 2023

Richard Crawshaw

Senior Research Scientist, UK

The Britain Barometer is our regular polling of public opinion in Britain. We cover a range of topics including political views and voting intentions, the economy, government policies and emerging issues important to the British public.

23 February 2023, London – Kantar Public’s latest barometer reveals that:

A majority of Britons think the country is heading in the wrong direction.
Four in ten Britons would support an early general election being held in the next few months.
Britons think the government should prioritise reducing the cost of living, investing in the NHS and growing the economy.
However, people are becoming less pessimistic about the state of the economy compared with the end of last year.

Kantar Public’s research took place between the 16 February and 20 February 2023.

Key findings include:

59% of Britons think Britain is heading in the wrong direction. Only 12% think the country is headed in the right direction.
- Nearly half (47%) of those who voted Conservative in the 2019 election think the country is heading in the wrong direction, while a quarter (26%) think the country is heading in the right direction.
41% of Britons would support an election being held in the next few months, 31% would neither support nor oppose an early election and 16% would oppose it.
- 36% of 2019 Conservative voters would oppose an election being held in the next few months. While a third (33%) would support one.
When asked about the three most important priorities for the UK government if it is to improve public life in the UK, Britons cite the following:
- Reducing the cost of living for households (46%, nc vs December 2022[1])
- Investing more in NHS capacity (43%, +7)
- Growing the UK’s economy (26%, +1)
Britons are slightly less pessimistic about the economy compared to the end of last year:
- 66% of Britons think the economy is doing worse than it was a year ago (-5 vs December 2022).
- 44% of Britons think that the British economy will be doing much the same as it is now in a years’ time (+4%). 39% think it will be doing worse (-9 Vs December 2022).

More detailed analysis on themes

1. The cost of living

Over half (61%) of Britons said they were finding it harder to meet their monthly household budget compared to a year ago (+2 vs December 2022). A third (32%) are finding it about the same (nc). 7% are finding it easier than it was 12 months ago (-1%).
Over half of Britons (58%) would rate the government’s handling of economy over the last year as very/quite poor. Only 13% would rate it as very/quite good. 29% think it is neither good nor poor.
81% of Britons (+4 vs December 2022) think the government is handling cost of living very/fairly poorly. 14% (-3) think the government has handled the crisis very/fairly well. 5% are not sure (-2).
66% of Britons think the economy is doing worse than it was a year ago (-5 vs December 2022). 26% think it is doing much the same (+3), but only 8% think it is doing better (+2)
44% of Britons think that the British economy will be doing much the same as it is now in a years’ time (+4%). 39% think it will be doing worse (-9 Vs December 2022). 17% think that it will be doing better than it is now +5).

2. The NHS

Britons cite investing in NHS capacity as their second highest policy priority, but rate government handling of the NHS poorly:
- Over three quarters of Britons (78%) think the government is handling the Nation Health Services very/fairly poorly. Only 16% think they are handling it very/fairly well and 6% are not sure.
- Over a third of Britons (36%) think neither Keir Starmer nor Rishi Sunak would be best to manage the NHS (+4 vs December 2022). A quarter of Britons (25%) think Keir Starmer would be better than Rishi Sunak at managing the NHS (-1), while 19% think Rishi Sunak would be better than Keir Starmer (+1). 20% do not know who would be better (-3).

3. Crime

Britons rate the government’s handling of crime poorly, but are unsure which party leader would be best to reduce serious crime:
- Seven in ten Britons (69%) would rate the government’s handling of crime as very/fairly poorly. 20% would rate it as very/fairly well and 11% are not sure.
- 38% of Britons think neither Keir Starmer nor Rishi Sunak would be best to reduce serious crime (+1 vs December 2022). 19% of Britons think Rishi Sunak would be better than Keir Starmer (+1), and 19% think Keir Starmer would be better than Rishi Sunak (+1). A quarter of Britons (24%) don’t know (-3).

4. Climate Change

Britons continue to rate the government’s handling of climate change, and global cooperation on climate change poorly:

Over half of Britons (54%) would rate the cooperation between countries globally as very/fairly poor (+5 vs November 2022[1]). A quarter (27%) would rate this as very/fairly good (+6).
54% of Britons would also rate the government’s handling of climate change as very/fairly poor (-5 vs December 2022). A quarter 26% would rate the government’s handling of climate change as very/fairly well (+2)
A third of Britons (34%) think neither Keir Starmer nor Rishi Sunak would be best to tackling climate change (-2 vs December 2022). 20% think Keir Starmer would be better than Rishi Sunak (-1), while 17% think Rishi Sunak would be better than Keir Starmer (-1). 29% don’t know who would be better (+3).

5. Voting Intentions

Labour 45% (-1 vs December 2022)
Conservatives 28% (-1)
Liberal Democrats 9% (nc)
Green 7% (+2)
SNP 5% (nc)
Reform UK 5% (+1)
UKIP 1% (-1)
Plaid Cymru <1% (nc)
Other <1% (-1)

Methodological information

The survey data and further details on the methodological approach of the Britain Barometer will be published on the morning of Thursday 7 September.

A total of 1,146 interviews were conducted online among adults living in Great Britain between the 31 August and 4 September 2023. All interviews were conducted online using the Kantar Research Express. The Kantar Profiles online access panel was the main sample source.

The data was weighted to match population totals for age, gender, 2019 General Election voting patterns, 2016 EU referendum voting patterns, education, region, and likelihood to vote in the next General Election. Any use of this research must cite Kantar Public as the source.