76% fear capital gains tax hikes will hit them personally, and investors are ten times more likely to think the economy will fare better under Burnham than their own finances will (37% vs 3%)

 

New research from Boring Money reveals a striking gap between how investors feel about Andy Burnham’s government and how they feel about what it means for their own money. While sentiment on Burnham himself as Prime Minister is closely split (38% positive versus 36% negative), that balance disappears entirely when investors are asked about the impact on their personal finances: just 7% feel positive, while 50% feel negative.

Investors were also asked to compare how they expect the UK economy and their own financial situation to fare under the new administration. 37% expect the economy to do better than their own finances; only 3% expect the reverse.

 

Holly Mackay, CEO of Boring Money, comments:  “The gap tells its own story: people aren’t necessarily hostile to Burnham as PM, and many think he could be good for Britain. But they’re bracing for what his government might mean for their own bank balance, it’s a case of ‘fine for the country, worse for me’”.

 

What investors fear for their own finances

 

Capital, not income, is what worries investors most. Asked which policies they expect to hit their own finances, 76% of investors say potential changes to capital gains tax under Burnham and new Chancellor John Healey are a cause for concern – the single biggest source of anxiety in the survey. A new wealth tax (64%), land and stamp duty reform (51%) and inheritance tax (50%) followed. National Insurance, by contrast, concerns just 4%.

Potential policy change

Selected

Capital gains tax

76%

A new wealth tax

64%

Land / stamp duty reform

51%

Inheritance tax

50%

Pension tax relief / rules

41%

Income tax rates or thresholds

40%

Dividend tax

36%

Energy bills / cost-of-living support

33%

ISA allowances or rules

27%

National Insurance

4%

When the same investors are asked what potential policy changes will benefit the economy as a whole, potential tax rises drop well down the list, selected by just 34%, behind public spending and borrowing levels (67%) and bringing services under greater public control (38%).

Holly continues: “Investors are braced for increases in capital gains taxes – over three-quarters worry about the impact this will have on their finances. There’s an audible shift to considering wealth, not just income, as a source of more tax by cash-strapped governments around the globe and those rumblings have firmly  lodged in UK investors’ minds. The October Budget will set an important tone of what we can expect.”

 

How investors expect potential policy changes to benefit the economy

 

Policy area

Selected

Public spending & borrowing levels

67%

Bringing services under greater public control

38%

Energy policy (incl. North Sea oil)

36%

Potential tax rises

34%

Defence / military spending

31%

Re-industrialisation / public procurement

30%

Housing and planning

28%

Net zero commitments

14%

 

The most confident investors harbour the highest concerns about the new PM & his government

 

Investing confidence, not age or gender, is the sharpest divide in the data, and it doesn’t move in a straight line. Investors describing themselves as having “high” confidence when it comes to making investment decisions are the single most optimistic group in the survey, the only segment net-positive on both the Prime Minister and the wider economy. Yet those who describe themselves as “very high” confidence are the angriest cohort of all: not a single respondent in this group feels positive about their own finances, and 59% hold a negative view of Burnham.

 

Age and gender divides

 

Sentiment on Burnham as PM is remarkably consistent across age groups, sitting between 29% and 39% negative in every bracket. But investor optimism for the new government’s impact on their personal finances collapses sharply for those aged 55–64. Only 2% of this group feel positive about their own finances – likely reflecting this group’s peak exposure to pensions, capital gains and inheritance tax ahead of retirement. Under-45s are comparatively more resilient (21% positive about their potential impact of the new government on their personal finances), with worries more rooted in cost of living and mortgages than asset taxation.

Men are more decisively negative about Burnham than women (41% versus 28%), while women are more likely to reserve judgement, with 33% sitting neutral or unsure compared to 25% of men.

 

  • Pulse survey data fielded July 2026 from Boring Money’s proprietary research panel

 



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