Britons have given a damning verdict on the Labour Government’s treatment of pensioners, farmers, small businesses – and “people like me”. A stark majority (56%) of people polled by Ipsos think the way Sir Keir Starmer’s Government has treated pensioners is “worse than they should be”.

This scathing judgement follows the controversy surrounding the shock axing of winter fuel payments for the vast majority of pensioners. Public outrage has forced Labour into a U-turn which means nine million pensioners will receive the benefit this autumn.

Gideon Skinner, senior director of UK Politics at Ipsos, said: “Our data shows that over half the population believe that pensioners are treated worse than they should be by the Government – a view held especially by older people. While the u-turn on winter fuel payments is welcomed by many, the fact that this is only a small improvement since earlier this year suggests the Government still has a long way to go to rebuild confidence that is treating pensioners – and other groups feeling hard-pressed – fairly.”

A solid majority of Britons (54%) also think the Government’s treatment of farmers, small businesses and working people has been worse than they deserve.

More than half (51%) of those polled said “people like me” have been treated this way.

The Government’s changes to inheritance tax, which mean more farming families will face a bill, have been widely condemned.

Mo Metcalf-Fisher, of the Countryside Alliance, said: “Farmers work incredibly hard to produce food for us to eat, often up against the worst odds. There’s a lot of love and support for the farming community among the British public, which makes the decision to whack them with a family farm tax all the more astonishing and such bad politics.

“Whitehall should take note, listen to the public and work with farming voices to find a sustainable way forward that won’t see family farms lost, before it’s too late.”

There is strong concern about how businesses are affected by the increase in employers’ National Insurance Contributions, the rise in the minimum wage and the prospect of tougher laws on workers’ rights.

Tina McKenzie of the Federation of Small Businesses warned: “You won’t get proper growth without supporting the grassroots wealth creators – the UK’s 5.5million hard-working small businesses.”

She was unimpressed by Wednesday’s spending review, saying: “As the government unveiled its plans for public spending, small businesses were in many ways left out of the picture, at a time when public spending needs to be used strategically to help drive economic growth. Support to cover higher sick pay was nowhere to be seen.

“Billions set aside for housing and defence did not come with any promise to bring local firms into the supply chain. Even new funding to help households save on energy bills stopped short of offering the same help to small business premises.”

The polling will make painful reading for Labour because 54% of respondents think people on high incomes are treated “better than they should be”. Half say the same for big business and immigrants.

Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, said: “It comes as no surprise that Britons overwhelmingly believe Labour’s treatment of farmers, pensioners, and small businesses has been atrocious. Instead of digging deeper into the pockets of hardworking families, the Government should focus on saving money by scrapping costly net zero initiatives, cancelling asylum hotels, and slashing foreign aid.

“Labour has failed the British public on a massive scale. It’s no surprise that people are now turning to us — the party that will finally put the British people first.”

Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: “Our pensioners deserve security and dignity in retirement. When Labour last left office we had the fourth highest pensioner poverty in Europe.

“Conservatives always protected pensioners and introduced the triple lock as well as maintaining winter fuel payments, and pensioner poverty fell on our watch.

“Labour’s first act on coming into government was to undo that, slashing support for pensioners despite being told it would plunge tens of thousands into poverty. They showed their contempt for our pensioners, and we will never forget it.”

The Treasury was invited to comment.