"Low-income voters demand higher living standards and expect more Government control over economy after Brexit" says JRF

Britain’s Brexit hopes, fears and expectations, written by Sir John Curtice and researchers at the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) for JRF, looks at the public’s priorities after Brexit, particularly from the perspective of people on low incomes, who overwhelmingly backed Leave. 

It paints a picture of a divided nation, but one that has high expectations for better public services, living standards and control over the economy. People on low incomes listed improving public services, creating more jobs and reducing the number of people on low incomes as their priorities.

JRF says the findings are a clear challenge to the political parties and their future leaders: to take action to address low income voters’ day to day concerns at a time when energy is consumed with Brexit negotiations, and public services and finances remain under pressure.

Campbell Robb, Chief Executive of the independent Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said:

“Brexit is overwhelming British politics and while we wait for negotiations to conclude, more workers and families with children are being swept into a rising tide of poverty.

“The public are demanding improvements in public services, more jobs and fewer people struggling on low incomes after Brexit. We know leaving the EU alone will not deliver this, so we need a bold package of domestic reforms, not just favourable trade terms.

“Low income households could be a key battleground at the next election. Political leaders who ignore these concerns do so at their peril.”

Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow for NatCen said: “It seems that there is little expectation among voters that Brexit will help improve the lives of those on low incomes. Even among those who voted in favour of leaving the EU, only around one in three anticipate an improvement in the position of those on low incomes. Those on low incomes are no more optimistic either about what Brexit will bring. If this mood does indeed turn out to be correct, then the debate about inequality in Britain will need to be kindled anew once the Brexit process is over.”

The report found, among voters on low incomes:

• Asked about control, over half (56%) thought that Brexit would result in the country having greater control over the economy. 

• Asked about the impacts in 10 years’ time, people do not believe that Brexit itself will deliver on their priorities: in relation to the NHS, unemployment, increasing the number of better paid jobs, reducing the number of people on low incomes and making their lives easier, most believe that Brexit will make little difference or will make matters worse.  

The findings show the urgent need for the government to take action domestically to deliver what voters want to see in post-Brexit Britian. 

As part of a new deal for low income families after Brexit, JRF recommends the Government:

1. Build 80,000 affordable homes a year at Living Rents – linking rents to the wages of people on low incomes.
2. Ensure families keep more of their earnings under Universal Credit by boosting in-work support such as the work allowance.
3. Deliver the Shared Prosperity Fund promised to left behind town and cities, to help create more and better jobs with repatriated EU funding.

Notes to Editors

1. Britain’s Brexit hopes, fears and expectations is available under embargo by contacting the JRF press office. 
2. This report examines the public’s expectations of what Brexit might bring for the economy, public services and immigration. It focuses on the views of those with low incomes, and on the perceived impact of Brexit on those with low incomes. 
3. The evidence comes from 15 questions included in the 2017 British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey on behalf of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
4. While many opinion polls have asked voters what they think the more immediate impact of Brexit would be, few have asked voters what they think the longer-term impact would be, for example a decade after the UK has left. Yet it is arguably the perceived long-term consequence that matters more if we are to understand voters’ hopes and fears about what Brexit might bring. 
5. Respondents were asked their views on what the impact of Brexit would be in 10 years’ time, and we compared the answers with those to other questions about Brexit that did not present respondents with such a timeframe. Meanwhile, very little research has been done into what people think the implications of Brexit might be for those on low incomes, even though they might be thought least able to withstand any adverse consequences.