Support for benefit handouts is nearing an historic low among the British public, a major study has revealed.
The British Social Attitudes survey found that those in favour of welfare spending are at nearly their lowest level since the question was first asked nearly 30 years ago.
Despite this, there is little support for cutting spending on disabled people who are unable to work, it showed.
This finding suggests it would be ‘politically risky’ for any government to try to save money by cutting disability benefits.
‘Support for spending on disabled people who cannot work – and for carers, parents on very low incomes, and retired people – is now lower than at any point since these questions were first asked in 1998,’ the survey found, though data shows the figure was slightly lower in 2009.
‘Yet despite this, support for spending on all these groups remains quite high.
‘Today, only seven per cent of people say there should be less spending on disability benefits, and 49per cent say there should be more spending (even if it would probably lead to higher taxes).’ The survey found that support for more spending on disability benefits had decreased in tandem with support for welfare spending overall.
But the public looked sympathetically towards those with disabilities that prevented them working versus unemployed people.
Kemi Badenoch has vowed to cut the welfare state to pay for defence if the Tories win the next election
It found that only 11per cent of those who oppose increasing welfare also favour spending less on disabled people, while 67per cent support reductions to spending on those without jobs.
It noted: ‘These figures suggest that opposition to welfare spending primarily reflects opposition to spending on unemployment benefits (and to a lesser extent, single parents), with spending on disability benefits being strongly insulated.’ Dr Robert de Vries, senior lecturer in quantitative sociology at the University of Kent and co-author of the report, said: ‘Despite growing political divisions on welfare, support for disability benefits remains remarkably strong.
‘Very few people favour cuts, disabled people are seen as among the most deserving recipients of support, and proposals to reduce disability benefits appear politically risky across the political spectrum.’ The study found that only seven per cent of Conservative voters and 11per cent of Reform voters support cutting disability benefits spending.
It noted that the picture for unemployment benefits was almost the reverse, with even Green Party voters – the most supportive of extra welfare spending – split between spending more and spending less.
The study also found that disabled people were a higher priority for extra welfare spending than for pensioners, in a reversal in recent years of the previous position.
The figures come ahead of a Government-commissioned review of the disability benefits system that is due to be published later this autumn.
The review, led by work and pensions minister Sir Stephen Timms, was announced last year in the wake of a Labour backbench rebellion at plans under Sir Keir Starmer to limit eligibility for personal independence payment (Pip).
Pip is the main disability payment in England and is intended to help with everyday tasks and extra living costs if someone has a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability.
Separate figures published by the Department for Work & Pensions in June showed the number of people in England and Wales claiming personal independence payments had passed four million for the first time, roughly doubling since 2019.
Spending on Pip stood at £16.3 billion in 2019/20, when adjusted for inflation to today’s prices, and had risen to £27.3 billion by 2024/25.
It is currently forecast to rise to £41.5 billion by 2030/31.
The BSA report found that disability benefits had risen as a percentage of GDP but hadn’t driven up overall welfare spending.
The polling was carried out in autumn 2025 but has been published as part of new analysis by the National Centre for Social Research on attitudes to welfare and social security.
The authors acknowledged that the timing of the survey, just after the Government’s failed attempt at bringing in Pip reforms, meant it was ‘possible that people were particularly supportive of disability benefits at the time’.
