Support grows for tax rises over austerity

A YouGov poll shows a reversal in public support for cutting back services to repair public finances, with 47% of respondents backing tax rises as a means to reduce the gap between government spending and what it raises in tax, up from 30% in December 2009. The poll saw 63% of people say they would support increased tax to fund the NHS, up from 48% in a 2014 poll. Support for tackling the deficit mainly through spending cuts has fallen from 52% to 27%. This comes with Institute for Fiscal Studies analysis suggesting that borrowing could this year exceed ￡300bn.