ITV News Cuts Index

 ITV News/ ComRes poll finds only one in five think the economy is getting stronger

Date Published: 08 Jun 2011

Categories: Economy | Politics | Public and communities | UK

Description

The latest installment of the Cuts Index, conducted by ComRes and to be broadcast on ITV News at Ten, finds just one in five people (19%) reporting that, in their experience, the national economy is getting stronger.  Eighty percent either disagree (57%) or are not sure (23%) if it is getting stronger, reiterating the lack of faith the British public feels and ongoing pessimism about the state of the UK economy.

Similarly , just 16% of people agree they have more money to spend on non-essential items now than they did last year. F our in five (83%) disagree (77%) or don’t know (6%) if they have more money to spend now compared to last year.

Just one third of the population (33%) feels optimistic about the state of the economy compared to 37% back in October 2010, while 56% feel pessimistic about the future, a figure which has increased from 49% back in October 2010.

In the light of this pessimism, the majority of people plan to cut back spending this year on buying clothes (54%), eating out (56%) and sport and leisure activities (46%). Unsurprisingly, given the recent hikes in the cost of living, most people expect to have to spend more on essentials like food (44%) and petrol (54%).

Asked about their personal financial situation 47% are still pessimistic and fears over job security have grown with 42% saying their outlook was pessimistic, up from 38% last October.

ComRes interviewed 2026 GB adults online between 3rd and 5th June 2011.  Data were weighted to be demographically representative of all GB adults.