Following the Chancellor’s Budget announcement that the government plans to introduce regional pay for public sector workers, Survation exclusively reveals public opinion. Full datatables are here;

On freezing the pay of public sector workers outside London and the South East

A recent poll conducted by Survation on behalf of Progressive Polling has found that the majority of the public oppose a proposal by the government to freeze the pay of public sector workers outside London and the South East.

28% of respondents said that the proposal, which is currently being reviewed by independent pay review boards, is ‘fair’ versus 56% who said it is ‘unfair’ and 15% who replied ‘Don’t Know’. Opposition among women was particularly significant, with 58% of women (versus 55% of men) saying that the plan is ‘unfair’ and only 23% of women (versus 33% of men) viewing the proposal as ‘fair’.

Party Allegiances

In terms of party allegiances, of those respondents who voted for the Conservatives in 2010, 50% said that the plan is ‘fair’ while 36% said it is ‘unfair’, and of those surveyed who said that they voted for Labour, 13% said that the proposal is ‘fair’ while 77% said it is ‘unfair’. Of those who said that they voted for the Liberal Democrats in 2010, 24% said that the plan is ‘fair’ while 64% said it is ‘unfair’.

Region

The proposal is particularly unpopular in the North and Scotland (where 21% of respondents said that it is ‘fair’ versus 68% who said it is ‘unfair’). In the Midlands and Wales, 32% of those surveyed said that the proposal is ‘fair’ while 56% said it is ‘unfair’, while in South, 32% said that the plan is ‘fair’ while 48% said that it is ‘unfair’.

Income

Regarding income, 60% of those in the top bracket said that the proposal is ‘unfair’, the same percentage as those in the bottom bracket. However, 28% of AB earners said that the plan is ‘fair’ compared to 21% of those categorised as DE.

On Cutting Public Sector Wages

Next, respondents were asked whether the government’s policy of cutting real terms public sector wages, which it claims will help boost job growth in the private sector, will help or harm regional economies beyond London and the South East. 17% of those surveyed said that the policy will ‘help’, while 45% said that it will ‘harm’ and 22% said ‘neither harm nor help’.

Gender

There was some differentiation by gender, with 21% of males surveyed saying that the measure will ‘help’, versus 12% of females. 45% of males said that the policy will ‘harm’ compared to 44% of females, while 23% of males said that it will ‘neither help nor harm’ versus 21% of females respondents.

Age

There was little discernible differentiation of opinion between the different income brackets, but regarding age group, 20% of 18 to 34 year olds said that the policy will ‘help’, versus 13% of those aged between 35 and 54, and 18% of those aged 55 and over. 40% of those aged between 18 and 34 said that the policy will ‘harm’, compared to 49% 35 to 54 year olds and 43% of those aged at least 55. 19% of 18 to 34 year olds said that the policy will ‘neither help nor harm’ versus 22% of those aged between 35 and 54 and 24% of those aged 55 and over.

Regions

Opinion was fairly evenly divided across the regions- of those in the North and Scotland, 14% said that the policy will ‘help’, while 46% said ‘harm’ and 22% said ‘neither harm nor help’, while in the Midlands and Wales, 19% said that the measure will ‘help’, while 46% said ‘harm’ and 21% said ‘neither harm nor help’. In the South, 17% said that the policy will ‘help’, while 42% said ‘harm’ and 22% said ‘neither harm nor help’.

by Charlotte Jee

Survation interviewed 1,178 people online between March 22 and 23. Data were weighted to be representative of the UK public.

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