Seven in 10 UK voters worried about impact of Trump‘s tariffs, polling finds
Seven in 10 UK voters are worried about the impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the British economy, a new poll has revealed.
Some 69 per cent of those surveyed say they are very or somewhat worried about Trump’s new global import tariffs in the UK, according to the latest City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll.
While 22 per cent said they were not very worried and just five per cent said they were not worried at all, pollsters found.
It comes as global stock markets have plummeted following the introduction of the tariffs, with investors even pulling cash from traditional safe havens like utility companies and gold.
While the UK’s FTSE 100 has plunged to a one-year low as fears deepen over the global impact of the measures announced last week, with analysts warning the scale of disruption in global financial markets is one of the worst to be felt in decades.
The Freshwater Strategy poll for City AM also found 59 per cent of voters were worried about the impact of US tariffs on their personal finances, with 16 per cent saying they were very worried.
The pollsters also found just one in four voters said they were confident in UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s ability to negotiate a trade deal with the US.
Some 22 per cent said they were somewhat confident, and five per cent said very confident, while 36 per cent said they were not very confident, and 33 per cent said not at all confident.
While a majority of voters said they thought Starmer should be more forceful in responding to US tariffs, with 54 per cent preferring him to take a more assertive stance.
This was made up of 20 per cent saying he should be much more forceful and 34 per cent calling for him to be somewhat more forceful, with 23 per cent describing the Prime Minister’s approach as just right, and just 14 per cent opting for a less forceful approach.
And around one in three voters (34 per cent) said they believed Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was best placed to negotiate with Donald Trump on tariffs and trade.
Starmer followed on 27 per cent, with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch on 13 per cent. Just six per cent said Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, and 21 per cent were unsure.
Backing for closer trade relations with other countries and negotiating with the US to reduce tariffs was also strong, on 70 and 67 per cent support, Freshwater’s polling also found.
Just under half – 47 per cent – support retaliatory tariffs, but this fell to one third – 33 per cent – if it means higher prices and fewer jobs in Britain.
Just 44 per cent of voters said they supported cutting business taxes, while 43 per cent said they were in favour of the government providing assistance to affected British industries.