Britain Barometer September 2021

The Britain Barometer is our regular polling of public opinion in Britain.  We cover a range of topics including political views and voting intentions, the economy, government policies and emerging issues important to the British public.

Key findings from Kantar Public’s research which took place between 23rd and 27th September reveal that:

• Half of Britons (53%) are very/fairly concerned about not being able to keep their home warm enough this winter; 40% are not very/not at all concerned.
• One in five (21%) of people are behind with some or all of their household bills; 72% are up to date with their bills.
• A majority (58%) would be willing to change the way they live and work to help reduce the effects of climate change
• 44% of Britons strongly/tend to support the government’s proposed reforms to adult social care, while 27% oppose. 30% of Britons are unsure if they support or oppose these reforms.
• However, only 33% of the public support raising taxes to increase spending on adult social care. A third (35%) want taxes and spending to be kept unchanged, and a quarter (23%) are unsure.
• 28% of the public (+8 vs August 2021) think the economy will be doing worse in 12 months’ time, while 24% (-6) think the economy will be doing better in 12 months’ time.
• And 71% of Britons are very/fairly concerned that there will be further waves of COVID-19 infections through the autumn and winter.

More detailed analysis on themes

1. Household-level economic impacts

This month’s research finds Britons are more pessimistic about the future of the economy than a month ago. There is increasing concern about job security, making ends meet and paying household bills:

•  Just over a quarter (28%, +8) now think the economy will be doing worse in 12 months’ time; 24% (-6) of Britons think the economy will be doing better in 12 months’ time.
• Three-in-ten (30%) are finding it harder to meet their monthly household budget than a year ago (+6). 60% are finding it about the same (-7) and 9% are finding it easier (no change).
• Half of Britons (53%) are very/fairly concerned about not being able to keep their home warm enough this winter; 40% are not very/not at all concerned.
• 21% of people say they are behind with some or all of their household bills; 72% are up to date with their bills.
• Of those working, 21% say their job feels less safe than 12 months ago (nc) which remains the lowest figure since September 2019.

2. Attitudes towards adult social care reforms

Britons are divided over the government’s reforms to adult social care, with 44% saying they strongly support/tend to support these reforms; 27% oppose to them, while 30% of Britons are unsure about their position. Other findings include:

• More than one third (35%) of Britons support keeping taxes, and spending on adult social care the same level as now. One third (33%) of Britons support increasing taxes and spending more on adult social care, whilst 9% support reducing taxes and spending less on adult social care. 23% are unsure. 
• When asked which political party they trust the most on the issue of adult social care:
• Half of Britons (53%) did not know who which political party they trusted the most.
• 16% trusted Labour the most and 16% trusted the Conservative party the most. 5% trusted the Liberal Democrats the most.

3. The climate for climate change in Britain

A majority of people (58%) say that they would be willing to make a lot of changes / some changes to how they live and work to help reduce the effects of climate change; one-fifth (19%) would be willing to make only a few changes and 12% would not being willing to make any changes. Other findings include:

• 26% (+4) of Britons rate global cooperation between countries to tackle climate change as very good/good. 53% (-3) rate it as very poor/poor.
• 39% (-1) of people think that following the end of the COVID-19 outbreak, actions to address climate change should be more of a priority for governments than before

4. Attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination

A large majority of the public (71%, representing a +4pt increase vs. last month) are very/fairly concerned that there will be further waves of COVID-19 infections through the autumn and winter; while 23% (-5) are not very/not at all concerned. 

 In response to questions about the COVID-19 vaccines:

• Three quarters of Britons (74%, +2) say they are very/somewhat satisfied with the vaccine rollout organised by the government and health authorities.
• 47% (+3) think that vaccines should be compulsory for all adults. 41% (-3) think that adults should be allowed to choose.
• 62% approve/strongly approve of vaccinations being available to children 12-15 years old, while 18% oppose the idea.
• 39% (+4) rate the cooperation between countries to distribute COVID-19 vaccines as very/fairly good, compared to 42% (nc) who say fairly/ very poor. 20% say they ‘don’t know’ (-3).

5. Voting Intentions

• Con 43% (+6 vs August 2021)
• Lab 30% (-4)
• L Dem 11% (-3)
• Green 6% (+1)
• SNP 4% (nc)
• Reform UK (formerly Brexit Party) 1% (-1)
• UKIP 1% (-1)
• Plaid Cymru 1% (nc)
• Other 1% (+1)

Methodological information

A total of 1,089 interviews were conducted online among adults living in Great Britain between the 23rd and 27th September 2021. All interviews were conducted online using the Kantar Research Express. The Kantar online access panel was the main sample source.

The data was weighted to match population totals for age, gender, 2019 General Election voting patterns, 2016 EU referendum voting patterns, education, region, and likelihood to vote in the next General Election. Any use of this research must cite Kantar as the source.

This Britain Barometer was issued under our former global brand name: Kantar Public.