Poll blow for post-Budget Brown
Britons are less keen on Gordon Brown becoming prime minister following this week’s Budget, according to a new poll.
Thirty per cent of people quizzed by Populus for the Times last Wednesday and Thursday said they thought the chancellor would be a good replacement for Tony Blair.
In December the proportion was ten per cent higher, while during the same period, the number of voters who do not expect Mr Brown to be a good prime minister has risen eight percentage points to 57 per cent.
The chancellor’s sliding popularity is most evident among 18 to 24-year-olds, while the poll of 1,025 adults also reveals that Labour is losing support in the Midlands, Wales and the south-east.
Despite the headline-grabbing 2p reduction on income tax announced in his 11th, and almost certainly last, Budget, more than a quarter of respondents said they expected to pay more tax as a result of Mr Brown’s speech to MPs.
However, 60 per cent admit they doubt any of the chancellor’s main announcements will make a difference to their finances.
In the run-up to Wednesday’s Budget, Mr Brown had faced criticism from Lord Turnbull that he exhibited “Stalinist ruthlessness”, but almost three-quarters of people interviewed by Populus said the former cabinet secretary’s remarks meant nothing to them.
The chancellor sidestepped Lord Turnbull’s criticism by thanking senior civil servants, “or should I say comrades”, when at the dispatch box.
