New research for JRF and Trussell by More in Common shows that Britons want a social security system that adequately protects those who need it, but are frustrated with the current system and believe it is failing to do so. Attitudes towards social security have also split Labour’s winning 2024 voter coalition, particularly on the right, with many voters concerned about overuse of the system and its cost, as well as the sustainability of the system as it stands.

Common ground can nevertheless be found in a shared desire for a social security system that meets the needs of those it is designed to support, alongside a more long term approach to sustainability that focuses on tackling the drivers pushing people to rely on it. Policies such as supporting people with disabilities or long-term health conditions into work, cutting NHS waiting lists, and providing good mental health support are all seen as more effective ways of reducing use of the social security system, rather than making it harder to claim or cutting the amount people are paid.

The country wants an adequate, supportive social security system…

That there is a social safety net to help people in their time of need is important to most Britons: over 4 in 5 (82 per cent) say that a system that adequately meets the needs of those who it is there to protect is of personal importance to them. Over 4 in 10 say it is very important- just 14% say it is not. Social security is for many, after all, a personal matter: more than half of Britons have direct experience of the system. This includes claiming themselves, helping a family member or friend claim, or caring for someone who relies on social security.

That the social security system helps people who need it is a desire that cuts across the political spectrum. Over three quarters of the supporters of the five national parties and at least 6 in 10 of each of More in Common’s Seven Segments say having a social security system that can adequately meet the needs of the people who need it is of personal importance to them.

Even among those who are less likely than average to say that having an adequate social security system is of personal importance to them – namely current Conservative and Reform UK supporters – more than eight in ten say it is important for the Government that the social security system can sufficiently meet people’s needs.

Support for a sufficient social security system also cuts across Labour’s now fractured 2024 coalition. Labour loyalists – those who voted Labour in 2024 and would still today – are essentially the mirror image of ‘switchers’, those who voted for the party in 2024 but would not today. Both groups overwhelmingly say that this is of personal importance to them. Regardless of whether the ‘switchers’ have shifted away from Labour to its left (and are now supporting the Greens, Liberal Democrats, the SNP or Plaid) or to its right (to the Conservatives or Reform) they are united in a majority seeing the value of an adequately supportive social security system.

…but believes the current system is broken.

Less than 1 in 10 (9 per cent) say that the UK’s social security system is working well and can support the people who need its help. Over 4 in 10 (42 per cent) think it is overstretched and cannot support people who need its help, while a further 41 per cent would describe the system as under strain.

“A bit of a telltale sign for me that the welfare state is not enough is the amount of charities that have to pick up the pieces. The UK has an insane amount of charities that are worth huge amounts and in a good welfare state, a functioning system, that wouldn’t really be the case.” – Ryan, Labour to Green switcher

Believing that the social security system is failing is clearly not a simple left-right issue, but one that is shaped by how institutionally trusting groups are. Of the Seven Segments, those who typically tend to show higher levels of faith and engagement with political and social institutions – like Traditional Conservatives, the Incrementalist Left and particularly Established Liberals – are more likely to say the system is working well and can support those who need its help. Meanwhile, those with lower levels of trust, such as Progressive Activists, Rooted Patriots and Dissenting Disruptors are more likely to see the system as either under strain, or overstretched to the extent the system cannot support those who need its help.

Similarly, those who are turning to insurgent parties on the left and the right are more likely to see the social security system as failing to do its duty, often tying into their broader sense that ‘the system’ overall in the UK is fundamentally broken. Reform UK and Green party supporters are less likely to say the social security system is working well, and are more likely than average to see it as overstretched and unable to support those who need it. Dissatisfaction cuts across Labour switchers regardless of the direction their vote has moved since 2024.

Meanwhile, the supporters of the two traditional mainstream parties – particularly Labour – are the most likely to say the system works

Financial anxiety also shapes how people judge the system’s adequacy. Six in ten of the least financially comfortable say the social security system is too overstretched to help those in need, compared with just a quarter of the most well-off – a particularly worrying gap given that 46 per cent of those who feel financially insecure think it likely they will need to rely on the system within the next three years. Many may therefore fear it won’t be there to support them to the extent they need if that time comes.

Those who have relied on the system often describe a negative experience. Among people who have claimed social security payments themselves, 45 per cent say their experience has been negative – well over the 29 per cent who say it has been positive. The top reasons they give are revealing: payments too low to cover living costs (56 per cent), a system that lacks respect in the way it interacts with people (38 per cent),and eligibility rules that exclude those in genuine need (30 per cent). For claimants, the question is not just whether social security pays enough, but whether it treats people with basic decency.

The public thinks spending on social security is fundamentally out of control…

Nearly two thirds of Britons (65 per cent) think spending on social security is out of control, with 3 in 10 (31 per cent) saying it is completely out of control. Just 8 per cent explicitly select the option “social security spending in the UK is under control.”

The Segments that tend to be more socially conservative and most sceptical of the system’s effectiveness (and of the genuineness of people’s reasons for using it) are particularly likely to view spending as out of control. More than seven in ten Rooted Patriots, Dissenting Disruptors and Traditional Conservatives hold this view, rising to 91 per cent among the latter, the most economically right wing segment.

“It’s not working at all. The welfare bill is going to break this country sooner or later. We just can’t afford it anymore (…) there’s people out there who deserve benefits and welfare, but I know plenty of people absolutely billing it for the max” – Chris, gas engineer, Sheffield, Labour-right switcher, Rooted Patriot

Yet even the more socially liberal segments, who tend to be more sympathetic to welfare and hold more progressive views on the system, are split down the middle on whether spending is under control.

Labour’s current voters are the inverse of their 2024 voters. Those who currently say they would vote Labour are particularly optimistic about the state of social security spending, with over half (52 per cent) seeing it as under control. However, this is in part driven by Labour’s loss of voters who are dissatisfied with how the social security system is currently working – 63 per cent of Labour ‘switchers’ say social security spending is out of control, compared to 47 per cent of those who voted for the party in 2024 and still would.

… and that the system is overused.

Britons believe the social security system’s woes can, at least in part, be attributed to overuse. Nearly two thirds (64 per cent) think too many people use the system, and over half (53 per cent) think use of social security has increased significantly in the past five years.

Across every group of party supporters, more people say too many are using the system than say the number is about right or too few – those who would currently vote Reform or Conservative are the most likely to say so. While this feeling is strongest on the right, it is clearly a concern that crosses partisan lines.

Concerns about use of the social security system, and the strain this is placing on it, are a common thread among voters who have moved away from Labour to parties on both the right and the left since 2024. Almost nine in ten Labour-right ‘switchers’ say they think the number of people using the system has increased since 2020 (62 per cent significantly so), while more than three quarters of this group say too many people are using it.

This concern is particularly pronounced among those who would now back the Conservatives or Reform. In focus groups, these participants were particularly likely to cite abuse of the system as one the reasons it was now under strain, and shared concerns misuse of it. Among these participants, there was a worry that those in need often go unaided, whilst those who in their view should not be eligible for support go on to receive it. Meanwhile, those who moved away from Labour to its left were more likely to place blame for this strain on underfunding.

“I definitely think a lot more people are claiming benefits. I do know a lot of people that are trying to find work, and especially people coming out of school and college and trying to find work, and it is quite difficult for them. But I think a lot of people are taking advantage of the offer of basically free money because they don’t want to work. They’ll say that they’re looking for work when they’re not, and they just get given Universal Credit. And as long as they’re making so many applications for jobs, which I know a lot of people don’t and say they do, they get Universal Credit and they don’t have to do anything to get it.” – Katie, childcare assistant, Sheffield, Labour-right switcher, Dissenting Disruptor

“I think it is under more pressure, but that’s simply because of the years of neglect. We haven’t seen significant overhauling or reformation to the system, so it’s overstressed simply because it hasn’t kept up with modern demands.” – Dylan, administrator, Cardiff, Labour-left switcher, Progressive Activist

Common ground can be found on what the future of the social security system should look like

There is a clear consensus that crosses party lines: the public thinks that in the long term, the answer to reducing spending on the social security system lies on the demand side, not the supply. Most Britons think tackling the underlying causes that lead people to need to make claims is a more effective way of reducing spending on social security than restricting access to the system or cutting payments.

Just under six in ten say that if the government had an aim of reducing its spending on benefits, they would most prefer it to take the approach of reducing spending in the longer term by tackling underlying causes of claiming, rather than restricting eligibility rules or cutting benefit payments themselves.

A majority of most of the national parties’ supporters (Reform UK supporters falling just short, at 49 per cent) would prefer this longer term approach over making cuts to payments or restricting eligibility, while of the Seven Segments only Traditional Conservatives show a clear preference for cuts. In other words, this is an approach with broad cross-party support that unites voters regardless of how sceptical they are of the social security system as it stands, or of their wider values and worldviews.

It is also an approach that unites Labour’s fractured 2024 voter base. A majority of those who have switched since the general election to supporting parties on Labour’s left and on its right prefer the approach of tackling the longer term drivers that lead people to rely on the social security system. Those who would now vote Reform or Conservative are more likely than left switchers to support a more restrictive approach to eligibility, but both groups are equally unlikely to see cutting the amount people receive as the answer to reducing spending.

“Well, I think if you deal with the underlying causes, then you have why are people needing benefits? I think if you deal with the underlying causes, then the rest follows” – Delia, unemployed, Cardiff North, Labour-Left switcher, Incrementalist Left

“I think it’s resources and it’s a domino effect. I think there’s probably more people claiming for anxiety and depression because the GP appointments weren’t there. The infrastructure weren’t in place to help these people get better. So they’re kind of stuck between a rock and an hard place. So I think the driver as to why we are here is the infrastructure failed. It incentivised the wrong behaviours whilst driving other factors into the ground. So policing, some people are repeat offenders. They get used to it. It’s an easier lifestyle. Rather than rehabilitating them, they get into the lifestyle. Like I’ve mentioned, GP appointments. I think it’s a domino effect as to how we’ve got like this and why people are claiming that many benefits.” – Claire, homemaker, Sheffield, Labour-right switcher, Dissenting Disruptor

Support for this long term, demand side framing is also evident in the specific policies the public believes would be most effective at reducing use of the social security system. The top rated options are creating more good quality jobs, improving support for people with disabilities and long term health conditions to stay in or return to work, and reducing NHS waiting times. By contrast, the public is less likely to say that reducing the amount paid via social security would be effective at reducing use of the system.

Policies like creating more good quality jobs, reducing NHS waiting times, and improving support for people with disabilities and long term health conditions to work unite voters who have moved from Labour to its left and to its right as effective ways of reducing use of the social security system. Among those who would now back the Greens, Plaid Cymru, the SNP or the Liberal Democrats, majorities also see expanding mental health support, building more affordable homes, and investing in early years as effective options. 2024 Labour voters who would now vote Conservative or Reform are more drawn to restricting eligibility or cutting payments as ways of reducing use of the social security system – though even within these groups, longer-term approaches usually still come out on top.

Taken together, while the public has strong concerns about whether the social security system as it stands is fit for purpose, and in particular whether it is overused, the public’s preference is that any reform focuses first on tackling the conditions which push people toward using the social security system in the first place.