Economic growth should be Burnham’s top priority, polling finds – funding for English mayoralties low on public agenda
Daniel Dieppe, 27 July 2026
● Nearly half (49 per cent) of the public believe economic growth is a high priority, when selected from a range of policy options, a major new Civitas poll reveals.
● More people thought cutting NHS expenditure was a higher priority (34 per cent) than increased funding for English Mayoralties, at 26 per cent.
● Among 18-24-year-olds, reducing the national debt was more likely to be a high priority (45 per cent) than reducing welfare spending (37 per cent) or increasing defence spending (26 per cent).
A new poll conducted by Deltapoll for the think-tank Civitas reveals that the public’s top priority should be economic growth. Nearly half (49 per cent) of the respondents gave it a high priority, closely followed by reducing the national debt at 46 per cent.
Only 26 per cent thought increased funding for English Mayoralties is a high priority. In a sign of its unpopularity, fewer people thought it was a high priority than reducing NHS expenditure, at 34 per cent.
More young people (aged 18-24) ranked the reduction of the £2.9 trillion national debt as a high priority (45 per cent) than any other option. By contrast, young people were the least likely to think increased defence expenditure was a high priority compared to other age groups, with only 26 per cent giving it a high priority compared to 39 per cent overall.
Prospective Labour voters were the most likely to think increasing economic growth was a high priority (56 per cent). Labour, Reform and Conservative prospective voters were equally likely to think the reduction of the UK’s £330 billion annual welfare bill was a high priority, at 41 per cent each.
Prospective Reform and Conservative voters were the joint most likely to support increasing defence spending, with 45 per cent ranking it a high priority. They were also less supportive of increased government funding of English Mayoralties, with 28 per cent and 25 per cent believing it is a high priority, respectively.
Jim McConalogue, CEO of Civitas, commented:
“This polling demonstrates to Westminster the desire for economic growth is alive and well across British households. When shown serious economic options, voters do not necessarily support more expenditure, as we can see with the fact that government funding of English Mayors is not a high priority.”
Read coverage in The Sunday Express: ‘Youngsters will ‘pick up the tab’ for £3tn UK debt‘
The question put to the sample was as follows:
On a scale from 0 to 10, how would you rate each of the following? (8-10 = high priority)
- Increasing economic growth above the 1.3% mark which the UK has not exceeded for the past three years
- Reducing the UK’s national debt to below the current £2.9 trillion
- Reducing the UK’s £330 billion annual welfare bill
- Increasing annual defence spending above the £79.1 billion planned for three years time
- Reducing NHS expenditure below the £242 billion spent last year
- Increasing central government funding to English Mayoral authorities above the current £15.9 billion
Deltapoll interviewed 2,027 adults in Britain online between 17th and 20th July 2026. The data have been weighted to be representative of the British adult population as a whole.