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PoliticsHome Polls

PoliticsHome Polls

Public opinion today

Tuesday 14th July 2009 | 11:33

Two thirds of voters believe defence should be protected from cuts

Strong majorities of both Labour and Conservative party supporters believe that defence should be protected from spending cuts amid evidence that voters see the issue as an increasingly high priority

Two thirds of the public believe that defence should be protected from future spending cuts, according to a new PoliticsHome poll. 

The news comes alongside further research evidence suggesting that the importance attached to defence by voters is rapidly increasing. 

66% of the public (including 79% of Conservative supporters and 64% of Labour supporters) believe defence spending should be protected. 

A majority of non-aligned voters also hold this view.  The verdict of Lib Dem supporters was less decisive, although they still tended to support protecting defence spending. 

The result makes an interesting comparison with a similar - though differently phrased - PoliticsHome poll in June which suggested that a majority of voters did not believe NHS spending should be ring-fenced. 

Do you think defence should be protected from any future spending cuts that the government may have to make, or should it face cuts like other departments?

Defence moves up public agenda

Results from the PoliticsHome Issues Tracker also indicate that defence is becoming an increasingly high priority for voters as the campaign in Afghanistan returns to the headlines. 

Voters are asked each week to say which issues from a list of 23 are the most important facing the country. 

The percentage of people thinking that ‘defence and the armed forces’ is a top priority has doubled in the past week alone, from 16% to 32%. 

This moves it above issues such as ‘education’ (21%) and ‘health provision’ (24%), though it remains some way behind unemployment (48%) and ‘the state of the economy in general’ (73%). 

PoliticsHome interviewed 1241 adults by email between 13-14 July 2009.  Results are weighted by party ID to reflect the UK at large. 

Weighted tracker figures are calculated weekly using a sample of over 1,000 voters. 

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