Britons' Pessimism on Household Finances Increases to Record, YouGov Says

Britons’ pessimism about their financial prospects for the next year fell to the lowest on record in September on concern about personal debt and job security, according to a survey by YouGov Plc with Bloomberg LP.

An index of consumers’ confidence in their own finances dropped to minus 33 percent from minus 22 percent in August, the lowest since at least February 2009, the survey of 2,122 people showed. A gauge of how respondents felt their situation had altered in the past month was unchanged at minus 24 percent, YouGov said. The survey was conducted on Sept. 10-12.

“Since the run up to the general election, people’s outlook for the future has grown increasingly negative,” Todd Davis, Financial Services Consulting Director at YouGov, said in a statement. “With more people saying their debts are increasing and savings shrinking, forecasts for an ‘L-shaped’ recovery seem more and more likely.”

U.K. consumers are bracing themselves for the biggest budget cuts since World War II as Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne prepares to detail his spending plans next week. While the economy grew at the fastest pace in nine years in the second quarter, Bank of England officials have warned the fiscal squeeze will hamper the recovery.

YouGov calculates the readings by subtracting the percentage of respondents who said their situation has worsened from the percentage who said it improved.

To contact the reporter on this story: Svenja O’Donnell in London at sodonnell@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Fraher at jfraher@bloomberg.net

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