Almost half of people think the government should spend more on disabled people, meaning proposals to cut disability benefits are likely to be “politically risky” for any major party, a new survey suggests.
While public attitudes to spending on welfare benefits have decreased overall, opinion on support for those who cannot work due to disability remains “remarkably strong”, according to the British Social Attitudes survey.
According to the findings of the BSA, carried out by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), 49 per cent of respondents said there should be more spending on disability benefits, even if it would likely lead to higher taxes, compared to 7 per cent who said there should be less spending in this area.
The findings showed support for spending on disabled people was high even among right-leaning voters, with 40 per cent backing more spending on benefits for this group, while 10 per cent supported less.
The BSA survey is a long-standing survey that looks at social and political attitudes across a range of issues, including the NHS.
The survey also looked at public opinion on the NHS, comparing the results from when New Labour came to power in 1997 to the challenge facing Andy Burnham’s government.
The BSA found the scale of the NHS challenge facing the current Labour government is greater than that facing Sir Tony’s government.
The new analysis, including by experts from the King’s Fund and Nuffield Trust, showed that in 1996 people were most dissatisfied with NHS waiting times and hospital services.
This improved by 2010, but now dissatisfaction is much more widespread across all NHS services, with poorer ratings for GP services, A&E and hospitals.
‘Politically risky’
Reflecting on the findings about disability benefits, Dr Robert de Vries, senior lecturer in quantitative sociology at the University of Kent and BSA co-author, said: “Despite growing political divisions on welfare, support for disability benefits remains remarkably strong.
“Very few people favour cuts; disabled people are seen as among the most deserving recipients of support, and proposals to reduce disability benefits appear politically risky across the political spectrum.”
The news comes as the government awaits the final report of Sir Stephen Timms’s review into the personal independence payment (PIP) scheme, which was announced last year after ministers were forced to back down on proposals to tweak PIP assessment that effectively would’ve made it harder to claim
In an interim report earlier this year, Sir Stephen described the system for applying for the benefit as “dehumanising” and “degrading”.
Last month Reform UK announced welfare reform policies which would abolish personal independence payments (PIP) and the health element of Universal Credit for working-age adults.
In July the Conservative Party said it would “urgently reassess all mild PIP claims for anxiety, depression and ADHD.”
Comparing results by voters’ political stance across all major parties, the BSA survey found Reform and Conservative voters are most likely to support spending less on benefits for disabled people who cannot work, as seven per cent of Tory voters and 11 per cent of Reform UK voters supported cutting disability benefits.
Public opinion on NHS
In the most recent BSA survey of 3,400 people in the UK last autumn, only 16 per cent were satisfied with the length of time it took to get a hospital appointment.
At the same time, only 14 per cent were satisfied with the length of time people spend waiting in A&E, while only 27 per cent said the same about a GP appointment.
The new report acknowledges shocks to the system such as the Covid-19 pandemic between when New Labour were in power and now, and argues the NHS is facing issues that “were largely absent” in 1997.
These include a more ageing population, with the share of the population aged 65 and over rising from 16 per cent in 1997 to 19 per cent in 2024, putting pressure on the NHS and social care.
Bea Taylor, co-author of the report and Fellow at the Nuffield Trust, said: “There is a striking similarity in the inheritance faced by the current Labour government and its New Labour predecessor when it comes to the NHS: low public satisfaction driven by concern over the speed at which patients can access care.
“But this time around the malaise felt by the public about the NHS is more widespread, affecting perceptions of all NHS services, not just hospital care. What’s more, the long tail of the Covid-19 pandemic has sent shockwaves through the NHS, making the road to recovery much more challenging for the current Government.”
In 1996, just before New Labour came into government, 36 per cent of the public were satisfied with the NHS, and this increased to a record 70 per cent by 2010 when Labour left office. In 2023, 24 per cent of the public reported being satisfied with the NHS, and in 2025 this figure increased to 2026.
The analysis also suggested that the public’s concerns have widened, with more people reporting problems with access to multiple services.
Figures showed that in 1996, 79 per cent felt the time it took to get an appointment with a consultant was in need of improvement, while 76 per cent said the same about getting a hospital operation. At the time, 43 per cent felt GP appointments needed improvement, and 77 per cent were satisfied with their GP service.
In 2023, 58 per cent were dissatisfied with the time it takes to get a GP appointment, and 63 per cent were dissatisfied with the time it takes to access hospital care. Now 35 per cent of the public report to be satisfied with their GP service, and 37 per cent are satisfied with their hospital service.
Danielle Jefferies, co-author of the report and senior analyst at The King’s Fund, added that it took the New Labour government 13 years to restore public confidence in the NHS, and that the challenge is now “broader and the money tighter.”
A Government spokesperson said: “We inherited a system of rising costs and poor outcomes for too many people which we are rectifying by extending award review periods, increasing face-to-face assessments, and helping sick or disabled people into jobs backed by £3.5bn by the end of the parliament.
“The final recommendations from the Timms and Milburn Reviews due this autumn will lay the foundation for sustainable long-term reform.”
The Conservative, Reform, Liberal Democrats and Green Parties were approached for comment.