Majority Of Britons Fear Budget Will Leave Them Worse Off -Poll

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Nearly two-thirds of Britons believe they will be left worse off by measures announced in Wednesday's budget, an opinion poll showed Tuesday, suggesting government assertions that the bulk of the measures will be aimed at helping low and middle income earners have failed to reassure the public.

In recent days, pre-budget speculation has focused on whether Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne will announce a cut to the top income tax rate of 50% on income over GBP150,000, with U.K. media reporting the rate could be lowered to 45% to appeal to entrepreneurs and other wealthy individuals.

The chancellor has refused to comment on the speculation and has instead said his priority is to help workers on low and middle incomes.

But the poll, conducted by ComRes for ITV News, found that 64% of Britons believe they will be worse off after the budget and 59% believe the budget will look after the rich more than it will look after the poor. The poll, which interviewed 2,057 adults between March 16 and 18, found that just one in five people believe Osborne understands the concerns of ordinary Britons.

Another poll, carried out by Ipsos Mori for the Evening Standard newspaper, report similar findings Tuesday, with 50% of those surveyed believing the budget would favor the wealthy.

The polls are a blow for Osborne's Conservative Party, which has worked hard to change the perception that it is a party of the rich elite.

In contrast, the ComRes poll found strong support for the idea of increasing the threshold at which people start paying income tax to GBP10,000, with 81% of people saying they were in favor of it. Junior coalition partners the Liberal Democrats have been publicly pushing for the proposal to be included in the budget.

This year's budget negotiations have seen an unusual public tussle between the Liberal Democrats' goal of an income tax break for families and the Conservative's wish for a business-friendly budget and a potential cut to the top income tax rate. However, a compromise could be reached, allowing a cut to the top tax rate if Osborne promises to increase measures to clamp down on wealthy people who avoid paying property taxes and to close other tax loopholes.