New research of the UK public shows that one in four UK adults (27%) have less than £500 in savings ahead of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee’s decision on interest rates.
The findings, which reveal the impact of the rising cost of living, indicates why only 1 in 3 believe a reduction in interest rates would benefit them financially, with 36% believe rate changes would have no impact.
The polling from leading market research company Savanta shows widespread pessimism across the country on the state of the UK economy.
Warning signs can be found for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, with seven in ten (69%) believing there won’t be an improvement in the economy in 2024. Of this, 40% of public think economic outlook is going to get worse – despite Sunak making it one of his key pledges.
Chris Hopkins, Political Research Director at Savanta said, “The rising cost of living has meant that a significant proportion of the UK public are struggling, despite government optimism for an economic recovery ahead of a general election. Make no mistake, our research shows increasing numbers of people in real difficulty – and who currently don’t see an end in sight.”
“In the short-term, these findings show more time is needed before the public feels the benefits of stabilising inflation. Longer-term, there are serious questions about how sustainable it is that the majority of the public believe the economy is geared against them.”
When 2,295 UK adults were polled between 26-28 January and asked who the UK economy is geared towards, a majority (54%) said it was “geared against people like me”. Around half of all adults in every single region and nation of the UK and across all generations also believe the UK economy is working against them right now.
Interestingly, despite four in ten (40%) UK adults having less than £2,000 in savings (which includes cash savings and investments but not property, art or collectibles) more people think of themselves as ‘savers’ (36%) than ‘spenders’ (27%).
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