Most voters can’t name a single cost of living policy from main parties. Here’s why they should care about that.

The General Election will be a cost of living election. But most voters can’t name a single thing either of the two biggest parties are going to do to help them and their families. That’s according to new polling commissioned by 38 Degrees from Survation.

The next General Election is a chance for change – change to make sure children aren’t going to bed hungry and cold, where people aren’t worried about keeping a roof over their heads, where we can all get back to living a little. Any party that hopes to lead this country must convince voters it has a real plan to make this change happen – or risk suffering at the ballot box.

The new polling shows that cost of living is the issue most likely to determine how people would vote, with more than a quarter (28%) citing it, with health and the NHS coming second at 18%.

Labour is seen by the largest proportion of voters (35%) as the party they “trust most” to tackle the cost of living crisis, but even so, voters feel unclear on their plans, with nearly 7 out of 10 (69%) people unable to name a single policy the party has announced to help them with the crisis. 

Other key findings from the public opinion research include:

• Almost half of voters (47%) believe Labour has a plan to address the cost of living – implying the public expect and would welcome significant announcements to tackle the crisis in the weeks and months ahead
• The Conservative Party is losing the trust of its own former voters on cost of living – only 53% of the people who voted for them in 2019 now say they trust the Conservatives most on the cost of living (22% of voters as a whole)
• Across all voters, almost three-quarters (72%) say they cannot name a policy the Conservative Party has that will help them and their families with the cost of living

The research also shows widespread support for a range of cost of living interventions such as a social tariff for energy bills, free school meals for all primary school kids and rent caps hooked to inflation.

Voters also back a wide range of additional taxes to help pay for these types of interventions, including windfall tax on energy giants and supermarket profits, as well as higher income tax on earnings over £125,000,

With Labour’s recent success at the local elections, Keir Starmer might think he has done enough to win over voters. Labour is currently the most trusted party when it comes to tackling the cost of living, and many voters believe that a plan exists: now they want to hear about it. As the election creeps closer, voters are looking for clear, credible promises that a new government guarantees to bring forward to make their lives better. Without those, in a cost of living election, no party can take victory for granted. 

Simple, costed solutions, like energy social energy tariffs to help those struggling the most or free school meals for all Primary school children, paid for by taxes on energy and supermarket giants, are measures which are not only popular, but could make a difference to millions of voters. 

You can download the full polling tables for this research here.

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The polling methodology

Sample size: 2,018 residents in the UK aged 18+
Fieldwork dates: 26th – 29th April 2024
Data were weighted to the profile of individuals aged 18+ in UK. Data were weighted by age, sex, region, ethnicity, education level, and annual household income. The survey was conducted via online interview.