Tory Leadership out of touch?

The PoliticsHome website promoted a survey of 1,208 adults earlier this week to ask people what they think about expenditure by the NHS.

Respondents were reminded of the claim that the NHS will face a £15 billion funding shortfall, and asked whether the spending should be protected, or whether NHS like virtually all other departments should face cuts. The former seems to be the preferred position of the Conservative hierarchy.

The results may seem surprising:
Broken down by party affiliation or support, the first percentage is that suggesting that NHS spending should be protected from major cuts with bigger cuts in the remaining, the second that the NHS should look for savings like other departments.

Conservative 19% and 80%
Labour 46% and 50%
LibDem 33% and 66%
None/other 33% and 60%

All four groups favour the option of requiring the NHS to look for savings, Labour supporters only slightly so, and by implication accept some cuts. Weighting the results according to the number in each of the four groups gives the result. THOSE WISHING THE NHS TO FACE CUTS 63%, THOSE WISHING TO PROTECT IT 33%.

It would seem that leaders of the two main parties are both out of touch with their supporters, perhaps because Brown and Co are trying to snare the Tories, and the Tories are trying to avoid it. A large majority of voters seem to have accepted the fact that there is some "fat" in the NHS system, perhaps from the recent ONS conclusion that despite massive injections of money the NHS has exhibited a decline in productivity.