Tax fears mount: Most Brits unhappy with Labour over energy price rise
The majority of Britons are unhappy with the Labour government’s response to the energy price jump sparked by the Iran war, new polling has found, as voters believe that Chancellor Rachel Reeves will turn to tax rises to keep public finances on a stable footing.
Fresh Morning Wire/Freshwater Strategy polling has found that 52 per cent of voters were dissatisfied with the government’s response to a global rise in energy prices, with nearly a third (30 per cent) claiming they were “very dissatisfied”.
Older voters were more likely to be dissatisfied with the government’s response so far than those aged between 18 and 34.
The government’s response so far has featured a small package for households in rural areas that use heating oil and emphasising that home energy bills were protected by a price cap until July. Fuel prices at petrol pumps have already jumped by roughly 19 per cent since the start of the war.
Reeves has suggested that a new “targeted” package will be announced for lower-income households. Policy details could be revealed this week.
All voter groups, including Labour supporters, agreed that a recession was more likely to occur in the next 12 months than not. Overall, 69 per cent said the UK economy was likely to plunge into an economic downturn by April next year.
Voters to blame tax hikes on Labour
In turn, voters are already fearful that new tax hikes would be made to deal with the crisis. Nearly three quarters of voters (74 per cent) said they expected taxes to increase at this year’s Budget.
However, the government would be directly blamed for tax increases to keep public finances stable and fund any support package, rather than the global economic slowdown caused by the conflict in the Middle East.
Around 39 per cent believed the Iran war would be responsible for incoming tax hikes while 52 per cent believed that Labour’s economic decisions so far would be the reason for further fiscal tightening.
The readings send Labour government officials a stark warning on voters’ feelings about the government, with communications so far focusing on Sir Keir Starmer’s refusal to join the US and Israel in its war with Iran.
Morning Wire/Freshwater Strategy polling figures reflect voters’ angst with decisions taken across Whitehall, particularly on energy and net zero policy.
Half of voters supported the government to allow more oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, including Labour voters.
Some 73 per cent of voters said they wanted the government to focus on reducing household energy bills rather than limiting carbon emissions.
Over half of Green Party voters said they would support a focus on household bill reduction rather than carbon emission reduction but around 36 per cent of these voters opposed further North Sea oil production compared to 26 per cent who supported it.
Method note: Freshwater Strategy interviewed n=1,250 eligible voters in the UK, aged 18+ online, between 10 – 12 April 2026. Margin of Error +/- 2.8%. Data are weighted to be representative of UK voters. Freshwater Strategy are members of the British Polling Council and abide by their rules.