23
18-24 year olds are twice as likely (38%) to answer ‘Don’t know’ as those over 60 (19%) There is also a political divide, with Labour supporters more likely to consider themselves ‘have nots’ than supporters of the two other main parties, and Conservatives more likely to class themselves among the ‘haves’. A majority (54%) of Labour supporters classify themselves as ‘have nots’, against 30% of Liberal Democrat supporters and 28% of Conservative supporters While 43% of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats call themselves ‘haves’ in comparison to just 26% of Labour supporters Tough economic times The idea that the British population can be divided into ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ is not new, but the issue is particularly relevant given today’s precarious political and economic climate. The results come against a backdrop of continuing economic uncertainty and the announcement that UK growth in the first quarter of this financial year was ‘slower than previously thought’. The findings also come in light of the Conservative Party conference, at which Work and Pensions Secretary Ian Duncan Smith claimed that the current Government had inherited the worst income inequality levels in over 50 years. Similarly, reports have suggested that the current rich-poor divide in the UK is at its widest point since the 1970s, with pay packets for those earning in the top 10% of wages having increased four times higher than those for the lowest-paid workers in recent decades. http://labs.yougov.co.uk/news/2011/10/06/are-you-have-or-have-not/
ANALYSIS: AS A RESULT OF CURRENT GOVERNMENT POLICIES THE BRITISH PUBLIC ARE INCREASINGLY VIEWING THEMSELVES AS „HAVE NOTS‟ AND THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE FOR LABOUR SUPPORTERS WHO FEEL LIKE THEIR NEEDS ARE NEGLECTED.