Ahead of the Autumn Statement next week, Survation conducted a 12,000 sample MRP survey of voting intentions related to a series of economic issues on behalf of the UK Spirits Alliance. The overall analysis found that two thirds of voters put the cost of living as one their top threes issues which will most affect how they vote at the next election. Labour leads on the cost of living issue and the economy generally. With 52% of voters associating the Conservatives with “more taxation” they have managed to lose their unique selling point as the low tax party to Labour.

Drilling down into the data for the views of voters in the Chancellor’s own new boundaries seat – Godalming and Ash – reveals that even in the Surrey Tory heartlands the majority (52%) think they’re paying too much tax, unsurprisingly 57% would support a duty cut and nearly two-thirds (62%) associate the Tories with high taxes. Following the corporation tax hike 55% don’t think the Tories support small business. Not an image the Chancellor will want in his constituency…

In the PM’s new boundaries seat of Richmond and Northallerton 55% want duty frozen or reduced, three fifths associate the Tories with high taxes and half (50%) don’t think the Tories support Small and Medium Businesses. The former Chancellor turned PM has only himself to blame.

Next week we are not expecting tax cuts in the Autumn Statement – we are told that can only happen when inflation is slayed. If the PM wants to disassociate high taxes from the Tories and win back the Blue Wall heartlands at least they should resist raising taxes on the wine and spirits that Tory voters drink. If they want to compound their problems with their core voters, hitting them with hike on their gin and tonics should do it…