03.09.14
Would people pay more tax to fund the NHS?
NHS funding is always a topical issue, and how it should be funded in the future is always a great debate for the British public (look out for masses of news coverage of this tomorrow…our lips are sealed until then).
However, the results can be confusing – especially when you have two surveys, within the space of a few weeks, saying the complete opposite.
For instance, today the free market think tank Reform said its Populus poll of more than 2,000 people indicated that 67% of British voters oppose an increase in income tax to pay more towards the NHS.
Reform’s poll suggested that 60% of voters agree that the NHS needs reform more than it needs extra money, against 12% who disagree.
However, it is only fair to highlight that a ComRes poll of 2,070 British adults, just a few weeks ago, revealed that 49% of people would be prepared to pay more tax to help fund the NHS. The polling firm also stated that public's willingness to pay extra tax to help the NHS has reached its highest level in over a decade.
Professor Chris Ham, chief executive of the King's Fund health think tank, said the increase in people willing to help the NHS financially was likely to be linked to public perceptions that it had started to struggle financially and clinically and because it was so highly valued.
What the two studies highlight are two very different ‘voices’ of the public, which have stirred the embers of the NHS funding fire. What can we definitely gleam and take away from these figures? Well, it appears, the NHS will, once again, be a major political battleground ahead of the general election. So, sit back, relax and wait for the next NHS dividing public opinion poll to come out.
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