What Britons think - UK - Scotsman.com The NatCen survey took a very broad look at opinions on matters that could feasibly swing polls Support for welfare cuts THERE was a dramatic slump in support for benefit claimants during the last few years, with more than half of the UK voters surveyed calling for benefits to be slashed. A total of 54 per cent of respondents in 2011 said that if benefits were less generous, people "would stand on their own two feet." There were 52 per cent of that view in 2007, but just 26 per cent in 1991 - the previous recession to grip the UK economy. The hardening in attitudes to benefit claimants also saw 62 per cent agreeing that unemployment benefits are too high and discourage work, more than double the proportion who thought this in 1991 at 27 per cent. Cuts and benefits THERE was a surge in support for an increase in taxes to pay for the NHS, education and social benefits, a survey of UK voters showed. The proportion backing tax increases to fund public services rose for the first time in nine years - up five points to 36 per cent. The principle of a taxpayer-funded NHS available to all was also supported by a clear majority, with 73 per cent opposing the idea of the health service being "available only to those with lower incomes." However, there was a slump in support for welfare compared to 1991, when 58 per cent agreed that "government should spend more on welfare benefits even if it leads to higher taxes" - more than double the proportion who think this now at 28 per cent. Politicians THE survey made gloomy reading for the UK's politicians, who are generally held in poor esteem compared to others employed at the taxpayers" expense. Fewer than one in ten trust British politicians "a great deal" or "quite a lot," compared with 58 per cent who say they trust the police. The proportion favouring a coalition has fallen from 40 per cent in 2010 to 28 per cent in 2011, while support for single-party government has risen from 48 per cent to 63 per cent. There was backing for the idea of handing voters new powers to evict politicians from office, with 88 per cent supporting the coalition's proposal that voters should have the right to force MPs who have "broken the rules" to resign and fight a by-election. Anti-immigration THREE out of four Britons wanted to see immigration reduced, with the report showing a significant increase in those backing a crackdown by the authorities. Three quarters of respondents wanted a reduction in immigration overall in 2011, up from 63 per cent in 1995. More than half of those surveyed - 51 per cent - insisted they wanted to see a large reduction in immigration to the UK. There was also an increase in the proportion who view the economic impact of migrants negatively, which increased by nine percentage points between 2002 and 2011, from 43 per cent to 52 per cent. PUBLIC satisfaction with the NHS plummeted in just one year, dropping from 70 per cent in 2010 to 58 per cent last year. Around a third of people think the standard of care in the NHS has been getting better in the last five years, only just higher than the proportion who think it has got worse. Nearly six in ten people are "very" or "quite" satisfied with how the NHS runs, a sharp drop from 2010, when seven in ten were satisfied. Transport and climate change DESPITE concerns about climate change, the bulk of those surveyed were unhappy about the idea of restricting air travel. Some 61 per cent think people should be able to travel by plane as much as they like, with 37 per cent saying air travel should be unrestricted even if more terminals or runways are needed. Nearly one in five of those surveyed, or 18 per cent, backed unrestricted air travel even if it harms the environment. Two in three are concerned about the effect of transport on climate change - compared with 80 per cent seven years ago. Three in four believe climate change is happening and that humans are, at least partly, responsible. Job security THERE was a sharp decline in feelings of employment security among UK workers. The proportion of workers saying it is "very true" that their jobs are secure has fallen from 32 per cent in 2004 to 23 per cent in 2010. On average, workers rate their satisfaction with their job as 7.3 out of 10, compared with 6.9 in 2006. This is similar among men (7.2) and women (7.3). More than one in five workers, or 22 per cent, say that they have taken a pay cut in the past three years, while one in four say they have had to do less interesting work over the past three years. Armed forces BRITAIN'S armed forces enjoy overwhelming backing from the public, even among those opposing the controversial military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Eight out of ten respondents said they have a high or very high opinion of the forces. The survey showed that nine out of ten people aged over 65, compared with seven out of ten aged 18 to 34 have a high opinion of services personnel. Almost six out of ten agree that the UK was wrong to go to war in Iraq, while almost half - 48 per cent per cent - say it was wrong for the UK to deploy to Afghanistan. Nine out of ten people declare their support for personnel who have recently served in Iraq and Afghanistan.