76 per cent say UK is becoming a worse place to live as taxes and NHS crisis take toll: Survey

LONDON Aug 1: Three quarters of people in Britain say that it is becoming a worse place to live, a poll revealed on Monday amid long NHS waiting lists, rising taxes, strikes and high inflation deepening the cost-of-living crisis, Evening Standard reported.

The Ipsos survey for the Evening Standard made grisly reading for the Tories, with Rishi Sunak getting his lowest satisfaction score as Prime Minister.

The Government has also sunk to a record low on being seen to be doing a bad job on managing the economy, taxation, public expenditure and scores dismally on improving the health service, and badly on dealing with crime, and managing immigration.

They key findings were:

76 per cent think Britain as a place to live is getting worse, compared with 49 per cent in June 2010 at the start of the austerity years, and 71 per cent in May 2008 as the financial crisis hit harder with Northern Rock having been nationalised a few months earlier.

For Westminster voting intentions, Labour is on 45 per cent, down two points, the Tories 28 per cent, up three points, and the Liberal Democrats 12 per cent, down one.

But Mr Sunak gets his lowest satisfaction rating as Prime Minister, with 63 per cent dissatisfied and just 26 per cent satisfied, a net score of minus 37, compared with minus 31 last month.

Sir Keir Starmer is seen as the “most capable PM” by 36 per cent to Mr Sunak’s 31 per cent, having been neck-and-neck in May and March.

39 per cent agree that Sir Keir is ready to be PM, with 37 per cent disagreeing, the first time he has a net positive score on this question.

Sir Keir’s satisfaction figure is unchanged on 31 per cent, but dissatisfieds are up four points to 53 per cent.

The findings for the Government are little changed, with 79 per cent dissatisfied and 14 per cent satisfied.

43 per cent agree that Labour is ready to form the next government, with 37 per cent disagreeing — similar figures since the start of this year.