Much recent economic debate has focussed on government pensions spending, and its relative generosity to that assigned to working people – but where do the public feel the balance has been struck?

The public are split, with 25% of Britons think government policy tends to favour working people, against 23% who think it prioritises pensioners, and 19% who feel both equally

Unsurprisingly there is a dispute between the generations, with the under-50 age groups tending to say that pensioners (32-34%) are favoured over working people (14-17%); in contrast, the over-65s tend to say working people (41%) are favoured over pensioners (7%)

News has emerged today that pensioners on low incomes will be shielded from income tax by chancellor John Healey, with the introduction of a new tax allowance for this group

The overwhelmingly majority of Britons agree with the principle that pensioners whose sole income is the state pension should not have to pay income tax on it, at 79%

Only 7% disagree

With Sylvester Stallone saying "you’re not a good parent if you haven’t performed a little nepotism" the British public are split on the rich and famous getting jobs for their children

41% of Britons agree with Stallone, saying that “they are doing what all parents should do, and they would be bad parents if they weren’t doing it”

While a similar number (37%) say “they shouldn’t do this, but I don’t blame them for doing so”

Only 5% are entirely critical, saying “this is harmful for society, and they are being bad people for doing so”

The question splits the public politically, with 51% of Reform voters and 59% of Tories siding with Stallone, compared to only 36-38% of Labour and Lib Dem voters, and just 29% of Greens

Instead, those who backed the main left wing parties in 2024 are most likely to say such nepotism is wrong, but that they also can’t blame celebrity parents for indulging, at 45-46%

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