Ahead of the Budget, and with the new Government looking to take action, Alcohol Change UK – an independent UK alcohol charity – commissioned Savanta1 to explore this question. We found:
- The public thinks the government’s health mission should be its top priority: 44% of UK adults chose ‘Building an NHS fit for the future’ as the key policy.
- Duty is a top priority for a tax rise in the Budget. 47% say increasing alcohol duty is the right priority, with 35% disagreeing. Only corporation tax had more support for an increase. By contrast, only 25% said increasing petrol duty is the right priority, while 55% say it is the wrong priority.
- People believe increasing alcohol duty would help the NHS: 52% said increasing alcohol duty by until it covers the cost of alcohol-related harm would have a positive impact on the NHS, while only 14% disagreed.
- Majorities also support other actions on alcohol harm, including not allowing alcohol marketing in places where it can be seen by significant numbers of children (61%), and compulsory labels on drinks with ingredients and calorie content (59%).
- Support for action on alcohol harm is even higher among Con-Lab swing voters. People who voted Conservative in 2019 and Labour in 2024 were more likely to back action on alcohol: for instance, 77% want to see a ban on alcohol marketing in places where it could be seen by large numbers of children, and 54% say increasing alcohol duty is the “right priority”.
Read a briefing on the findings here. You can also read more about our policy asks to HM Treasury here.
Note
1Savanta interviewed 2,028 UK adults aged 18+ online on 6th to 8th September 2024 on behalf of Alcohol Change UK. Data were weighted to be representative of the UK by age, sex, region, and social grade.
