The New Statesman: politics and culture Can Labour afford to raise taxes?
Oct 28, 2025
Steve Akehurst, a polling analyst and director of Persuasion UK, dives into public attitudes towards Labour's tax pledges. He reveals that voters prefer tax increases over failing public services, like those in the NHS and crime. Akehurst highlights the strong support for taxing the wealthy but expresses doubts about its sufficiency. He also discusses the importance of framing tax rises to link them to immediate relief. Ultimately, he cautions that breaking tax promises could further erode public trust in politics.
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Voters Punish Service Failures Harder Than Tax Breaks
- Persuasion UK's experiment asked voters to assess a hypothetical Labour record combining successes and failures to reveal true trade-offs.
- Breaking tax pledges reduced approval modestly, but failing on NHS, crime or child poverty penalised the government far more.
Persuasion UK’s Experimental Approach
- Steve Akehurst runs Persuasion UK, a non-partisan polling initiative exploring electorate change.
- He framed the episode's research around deeper trade-offs, not just headline policy likes/dislikes.
Labour Brand Raises Expectations On Public Services
- Labour's brand ties it to delivering public services so voters expect tangible improvements even if taxes rise.
- Voters dislike higher taxes but expect Labour not to manifestly fail on NHS, inequality or child poverty.