Public losing support for welfare state

Public attitudes to the welfare state have hardened during Labour’s decade in power, and even more so among Labour voters, a study by the London School of Economics has found. The study pre-dates the current recession, starting in 1996, just before Tony Blair took power. At the time 48 per cent of voters and 62 per cent of Labour supporters believed that unemployment benefits were too low and causing hardship. By 2006 only 23 per cent adults felt this and among Labour voters this had dropped to 30 per cent.