The economy remains the most mentioned important issue facing Britain

The economy continues to be seen as an important issue for the country, mentioned by 35% of Britons. Concern remains relatively unchanged since last month, seeing a small decrease of three percentage points.

As inflation rates fell last month, public concern has dropped significantly. Down ten percentage points since October, concern about inflation is at its lowest level since March 2022. However, it remains the second-biggest issue for the country, mentioned by a quarter (25%) of Britons.

Concern about the NHS has also fallen, down seven points since October, although it remains the third-biggest issue for Britons, mentioned by 24%.

Immigration remains the fourth-biggest issue facing the country, with 22% mentioning it as an issue. Concern remains uneven between different groups, with Conservative supporters (41%), men (29%) and those aged 55+ (28%) significantly more likely to see immigration as an issue than Labour supporters (11%), women (16%) and 18-34-year-olds (14%).

Almost one in five (18%) see housing as a concern, remaining the fifth-biggest issue facing Britain. This is the highest score for this issue since July 2019.

Elsewhere in the ranking, the proportion who mention defence/foreign affairs as a big issue has risen six points to 11%, its highest figure since September last year.  Meanwhile mentions of Europe/Brexit have fallen to just five per cent. This is the lowest level of concern recorded since December 2015.

Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos, said, “There are signs that the fall in inflation is beginning to feed through to the public, with mentions of the cost of living in the Ipsos Issues Index falling to their lowest level in 20 months.

“However that doesn’t meant that the impact of price rises on the public mood is over, and overall economic concerns still top the agenda.

“Indeed, the top five issues mentioned by the public are still the same as last month. Meanwhile, just below the top some other issues are becoming more pressing. Mentions of housing are at their highest since before the 2019 general election, while in response to international events mentions of defence/foreign affairs have now entered the top ten.”