Britons are divided over a Chancellor defence funding plan that would put more money into the Armed Forces, with new Ipsos polling showing 37% support for higher defence spending when the cost is left general. The same survey found 40% want spending to stay where it is and 15% want it cut.
The numbers matter now because the poll was conducted between 22 and 25 May 2026, as the government weighs how far it can push defence spending without triggering a backlash over who pays. Support for more spending has already slipped 11 percentage points from March, when it stood at 48%, though it remains above the 28% to 30% range seen in 2022.
That drop becomes sharper once the trade-offs are made plain. Ipsos found 45% would oppose higher defence spending if it meant less money for public services, and 50% would oppose it if it required higher personal taxes. Even so, 73% back increases that are tied to jobs and apprenticeships, while 61% support defence spending that also improves civilian infrastructure such as energy or transport.
Among the 37% who want defence spending increased, the most popular funding route is higher taxes, chosen by 35%, followed closely by cuts to other public services at 33%. Only 15% prefer extra borrowing. But when those tax options are broken down further, the appetite narrows fast: 44% would rather target income tax on earnings above £125,000, 31% prefer tobacco and alcohol duty, and 22% choose corporation tax. Just 3% would support raising basic rate income tax or VAT to help pay for it.
The same resistance appears if ministers look to spending cuts. If defence were funded that way, 38% said they would not want to see any public services cut. Of the options offered, welfare was the most commonly selected at 27%, followed by housing including housing benefit at 18%, education at 9%, and health and social care at 8%. That sits awkwardly alongside another finding: 62% of Britons say the NHS should be the priority for public investment.
There is also one funding idea with real political traction. A quarter of Britons, 25%, say they would be likely to buy war bonds to help pay for higher defence spending, rising to 34% among 2024 Conservative voters. However the Treasury ultimately tries to square the circle, the poll suggests public support for more defence is fragile unless ministers can show the money is being raised without hitting household bills or core services. The unanswered question is not whether people want stronger defence in the abstract; it is whether a Chancellor can find a funding mix the public will actually tolerate.
