Pollsters Electoral Calculus and Find Out Now have run a poll across Britain on perceptions about tariffs and attitudes towards trade policy in the UK.
Fieldwork was conducted from 3–5 February 2025, with a sample size of over 2,000. Respondents were asked whether trade is generally good for the UK, then asked to correctly identify the source of a quote on trade from the Magna Carta and the correct definition of a tariff. Lastly, they were asked what direction the UK's trade policy should generally adopt and what the country's response should be to the possibility of US tariffs.
The main findings are:
Below you can find a results breakdown for each question of the poll and what the data conveys.
Q1. "Do you believe that international trade is generally good or bad for the UK?"
| Response | All voters | LAB | CON | Reform | Lib Dem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very bad | 1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 0% |
| Bad | 3% | 3% | 2% | 3% | 3% |
| Neither good nor bad | 10% | 8% | 9% | 19% | 7% |
| Good | 33% | 29% | 41% | 29% | 42% |
| Very good | 33% | 43% | 39% | 34% | 40% |
| Don't know | 20% | 16% | 8% | 13% | 9% |
| Net bad | 4% | 4% | 3% | 5% | 3% |
| Net good | 66% | 72% | 80% | 63% | 82% |
Figures exclude those refused to answer (6%).
Most Britons (66pc) think that international trade is good for the UK, with really few believing the opposite (4pc) and some (20pc) unsure.
This belief is generally held across party lines. Seventy-two percent of Labour voters say international trade good and, while large majorities of Conservative and Reform voters think the same. Conservative voters seem to be the most pro-trade, with 80pc in favour and only 3pc being against it, while 63pc of Reform voters say it is good for the country and 5pc say it is bad.
Q2. "Read the following sentence about trade in England: 'All merchants shall be able to go out of and come into England safely [...] for buying and selling by the ancient and right customs free from all evil tolls'. From which of the following do you think this sentence comes from?"
| Response | All voters | Age 18-34 | Age 35-54 | Age 55+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magna Carta (1215) | 22% | 14% | 21% | 28% |
| Queen's Elizabeth's speech ahead of the Spanish Armada (1588) | 7% | 9% | 6% | 5% |
| The English Bill of Rights (1689) | 20% | 17% | 16% | 26% |
| Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech (1946) | 4% | 4% | 4% | 4% |
| Don't know | 48% | 56% | 53% | 38% |
The quote shown to the respondents comes from the Magna Carta, marking over 800 years of a trade-oriented Britain. However, only 22pc of Britons actually know its source. A similar proportion of the public (20pc) place the text in the English Bill of Rights instead, and a few people believe it is from Queen Elizabeth's Tilbury speech (7pc) or Churchill's Iron Curtain speech (4pc). Many more respondents, however, said that they do not know (48pc).
When it comes to what voters of different parties believe, slightly more Reform voters have identified the source as the Magna Carta than voters of other parties, but still only 26pc, with Conservative and Labour voters close behind (25pc and 24pc respectively). Among Conservative and Reform voters, the most popular source was the English Bill of Rights, with 30pc of Conservative voters and 29pc of Reform voters choosing it instead. Labour voters chose the Magna Carta more often (24pc), but even more people stated they did not know the source (40pc).
The proportion of people correctly identifying the mention of trade in the Magna Carta increased across age categories, with the lowest being among 18–34 year olds (14pc), while twice as many of those aged over 55 knew it.
Q3. "Which of these do you think is the best definition of the word 'tariff' when used about trade?"
| Response | All voters | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|
| A limit on the total amount of certain goods that can be imported each year | 4% | 3% | 5% |
| A tax imposed by a country on goods imported from abroad | 62% | 75% | 50% |
| A trade agreement between two or more countries to reduce import taxes | 5% | 6% | 5% |
| A law that bans the import of certain categories of goods from a specific country | 1% | 2% | 0% |
| Don't know | 28% | 15% | 40% |
The majority of Britons have correctly identified the definition of a tariff as a tax imposed by a county on goods imported from abroad, but only 62pc are sure, with the rest either choosing a wrong definition (10pc) or stating that they do not know (28pc).
Conservative and Reform voters had more people correctly defining tariffs, namely 79pc and 79pc respectively, with the second most popular definition being that of a trade agreement between two or more countries to reduce import taxes. However, only 8pc and 6pc respectively chose this option, while 8pc of Conservative voters and 12pc of Reform voters said they did not know. Slightly less Labour voters chose the correct definition (70pc), while 20pc did not know.
There is a stark gender divide in choosing the right definition for a tariff, as 75pc of men knew the meaning of the word but only 50pc of women chose the same option.
Q4. "Tariffs (import taxes) raise tax revenue, but make imported goods dearer to buy. Thinking about the level of tariffs that Britain charges on goods imported from other countries, which statement comes closest to your own view?"
| Response | All voters | Age 18-34 | Age 35-54 | Age 55+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Britain should have low or no tariffs on the goods we import | 23% | 18% | 22% | 28% |
| Britain should have moderate tariffs on the goods we import | 37% | 32% | 35% | 43% |
| Britain should have high tariffs on the goods we import | 3% | 2% | 2% | 4% |
| Don't know | 37% | 48% | 41% | 25% |
General opinion on the UK's ideal trade policy seems divided, with 23pc of people thinking tariffs should be low, 37pc thinking they should be moderate, only 3pc thinking they should be high and 37pc of people being undecided.
The majority of Conservative voters (52pc) think that tariffs should be moderate, followed by 44pc of Reform voters and 41pc of Labour voters. A similar proportion of each party's voters would opt for low tariffs, 30pc of Conservatives, 25pc of Reform and 27pc of Labour voters. The party with the most voters believing in higher tariffs is Reform, 7pc of them, but it generally seems like an unpopular option among Britons. Most undecided people on trade policy are Labour voters (30pc), while only 15pc of Conservative voters have not indicated a preference and 24pc of Reform voters.
There is also a noticeable age gap, with older voters being more sure of their opinion on the question than younger voters.
Q5. "US president Donald Trump has recently introduced tariffs (import taxes) on US imports from Canada, Mexico and China. He is also considering introducing them on US imports from the EU and Britain. If the US introduces tariffs on imports from Britain, how do you believe that Britain should react?"
| Response | All voters | LAB | CON | Reform | Lib Dem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| We should increase our tariffs on imports from the US | 24% | 23% | 32% | 32% | 24% |
| We should lower tariffs on imports from all countries, including the US | 6% | 4% | 10% | 10% | 3% |
| We shouldn't change our tariffs on imports from the US | 18% | 14% | 31% | 37% | 14% |
| The UK should rejoin the EU and let our tariffs be decided in Brussels | 17% | 31% | 8% | 2% | 35% |
| Don't know | 36% | 28% | 19% | 19% | 23% |
When faced with the possibility of US president Donald Trump introducing tariffs on British exports, Britons also seem undecided. The most popular approach seems to be raising tariffs on US imports, but only 24pc of people believe so, while 18pc believe we should not change our tariffs for American goods, 17pc believe we should rejoin the EU and let decisions be made in Brussels, 6pc believe we should lower tariffs instead and a chunky 36pc do not know.
Labour and Liberal Democrat voters are more fond of the decision being passed to Brussels, whereas Conservative and Reform voters think we should either increase tariffs in retaliation or keep them the same. The 'free-market' part of the centre right has only 10pc support for lowering tariffs to keep prices low here.
Martin Baxter, CEO of Electoral Calculus, said: "Our poll shows the public are generally in favour of international trade, but many are unsure of the details. On the whole Britons are against high tariffs, but are unsure how to react if the US were to increase tariffs on British exports to America. Even within individual parties, there are clear divisions between free-traders, protectionists and EU-rejoiners. It's no wonder that political leaders don't like to comment much on this issue."
Find Out Now polled 2,027 GB adults online between 3-5 February 2025. The sample was weighted to be representative by gender, age, social grade, other demographics and past voting patterns. Regression techniques were used to infer projected seat results.
Find Out Now and Electoral Calculus are both members of the British Polling Council and abide by its rules.
Data tables for this poll are available here.
Electoral Calculus is a pollster and political consultancy specialising in quantitative analysis and modelling for electoral and other market research projects. It has successfully predicted UK general elections since 2010. It was founded by Martin Baxter, its CEO.
Electoral Calculus is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules, and is a company partner of the Market Research Society.
Find Out Now is a polling and market research panel with 2.8 million members. Highly profiled respondents can be targeted instantly, with over 100,000 daily responses allowing the delivery of same-day nationally representative sampling.
Find Out Now are a member of the British Polling Council and abide by its rules, and are a company partner of the Market Research Society.