Spending wins over tax cuts by a large margin among both Tory and Labour supporters. There is also a body of opinion out there in favour of redistributing income to the poor, even at the expense of tax rises. Despite Thatcherism, it seems, social justice still conditions the response of a lot of people. But progressives should not cheer too quickly.
Fiscal ignorance abounds.
People think the UK is more heavily taxed than other European countries - it is not. Some core attitudes are firmly regressive. Half the population, at least, opposes inheritance tax. There is a problem with these findings. Each year the BSA throws up fascinating observations - men became less tolerant of extramarital sex in the 1990s while becoming markedly more liberal about gay sex.