Britons are less willing to pay taxes to support the welfare system or the environment, and are more likely to blame poverty on laziness, says a new report.
The latest British Social Attitudes report from the National Centre for Social Research found that British people increasingly believe that individual responsibility is the way out of economic woes.
The number of people who support tax increases for public services such as health care and education has dropped from 63 per cent at its peak nine years ago, to 31 per cent in 2011.
Fewer people believe it is the government’s responsibility to provide welfare support.
Despite a recognition that child poverty is an issue that needs to be addressed, 63 per cent of people questioned believed that parents who “don’t want to work” were to blame for some children living in poverty.
The survey of over 3,000 people shows that an increasing number of people are moving to what is traditionally considered a right-wing outlook, believing that is it up to individuals to help themselves.
In a time of economic austerity and social unrest, the big question coming out of this year’s report is whether we really are in it together, or just in it for ourselves? Penny Young, National Centre for Social Research
Views towards stewardship of the environment have also changed: in 2000, 43 per cent of people were prepared to pay much higher prices to safeguard the environment, but this has fallen to just 26 per cent.
Those willing to pay higher taxes to protect the environment has also fallen to from 31 per cent to 22 per cent.
Penny Young, chief executive of the National Centre for Social Research, said the report raised questions about changed social attitudes.
“In a time of economic austerity and social unrest, the big question coming out of this year’s report is whether we really are in it together, or just in it for ourselves?” she said.
“An emerging sense of self-reliance may take the government some way toward its vision of a more responsible society, but an emphasis on individualism, not Big Society collectivism, may present as much of a challenge as it does an opportunity.”