Cameron seen as better leader than Brown
David Cameron is now seen by the public as a better leader than Gordon Brown, according to the latest opinion poll.
Although Labour has stopped haemorrhaging support to the Conservatives, the poll shows Mr Cameron has positioned himself ahead of the prime minister when voters are asked to rank the two men’s personal qualities.
Mr Cameron has struggled to portray himself as a prime minister-in-waiting but the Populus poll, reported in today’s Times, now shows voters are more positive about the Tory leader’s personal qualities.
While six months ago 56 per cent of voters rated Mr Brown’s leadership abilities as prime minister, this has now fallen to 40 per cent.
In contrast, regard for Mr Cameron’s prime ministerial qualities has increased from 32 per cent to 44 per cent.
The prime minister is also losing his authority on “strength”; in a not insignificant set-back given that Mr Brown is so keen to stress his ability to take the difficult long-term decisions as he attempts to rebuild his fractured support.
From a comfortable lead of 32 per cent, Mr Brown now holds a six point lead when voters are asked to judge which leader cuts the “strongest” figure.
Meanwhile, the Eton-education Tory leader has increased his advantage over the prime minister on charisma and likeability.
Overall Mr Brown’s “leadership index” is down 0.89 points to 4.60 points out of ten.
Mr Cameron has meanwhile climbed to 5.07 points after a low of 4.81 points during Mr Brown’s summer honeymoon period.
Despite less than enthusiastic backing for Mr Brown, Labour has stopped losing support overall, climbing a point on last month’s approval rating to 33 per cent.
The Conservatives meanwhile fell below the crucial “election-winning” benchmark of 40 per cent to 37 per cent.
The Tories’ slip can be credited to the Liberal Democrats, with Nick Clegg’s appointment as leader seeing his party rise three points to 19 per cent.
With Mr Clegg frequently likened to Mr Cameron, Labour had long hoped the appointment of a permanent Lib Dem leader would stem rising support for the new-look “liberal” Conservatives.
Mr Clegg’s leadership rating stands below his rivals at 4.40 but the biggest challenge for the Lib Dem leader appears to be voter awareness.
Some 39 per cent of respondents said they were unsure whether Mr Clegg was a good or bad leader, compared to nine per cent undecided about Mr Cameron and five per cent unsure over Mr Brown’s leadership.
The latest poll comes a day after Number 10 confirmed PR boss Stephen Carter had been appointed to head up Mr Brown’s strategy team.
The Conservatives immediately dubbed Mr Carter the new Downing Street “King of spin”.
Caroline Spelman, Tory party chairman, said: “When he took office, Gordon Brown promised that spin would be consigned to the dustbin.
“Yet, on dozens of occasions since he became prime minister, his announcements have unravelled as the small print has shown the truth to be very different.”
