Brown increases poll lead
Gordon Brown’s poll lead over David Cameron on managing the economy is increasing significantly.
Some 41 per cent of respondents to an Ipsos Mori poll for the Daily Mirror said they trusted Mr Brown most to get the country out of recession compared to just 29 per cent for Mr Cameron.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg earned only seven per cent support.
The poll does not make particularly good reading for either leader, however, with the public equally split on whether Mr Brown was actually doing a good job on the economy. Forty-five per cent of people said he was doing a good job, and the same number thought he was doing a bad job.
The Tories still maintain an overall lead, with a six point gap between them and Labour.
The Tories are on 41 per cent (down two), Labour on 36 per cent (up four) and the Lib Dems are on 11 per cent.
If the results were replicated at a general election there would not be enough Tory support for a Conservative majority in the Commons.
The figures are more moderate than those in a ComRes poll for the Independent on Sunday which put the Tories on 37 per cent and Labour on 36 per cent.
A separate YouGov poll for the Sunday Times this weekend also threw up some interesting results.
Support for the Pre-Budget Report remained high, with 54 per cent saying they thought it would help make the recession shorter compared to 45 per cent saying it would make no difference.
Only forty per cent of respondents said Gordon Brown was taking an international lead on the crisis versus 44 per cent disagreeing. Given the general suspicion of politicians among the public, analysts are treating this figure as very positive for the prime minister.
But the main weakness in the government’s finance package remains the level of borrowing.
Only 27 per cent said it was wise for the government to borrow so much to avert recession, while 48 per cent said it was wrong.
When YouGov asked the same question on the day of the Report, 33 per cent supported the government and 50 per cent opposed them. The drop in pro-borrowing responses indicates the Conservatives may be having some success in convincing the public the policy is irresponsible.
The Conservatives have been unable to stop their lead eroding since the financial crisis hit. Yesterday, former defence secretary Michael Portillo led calls for shadow chancellor George Osborne to resign in favour of heavyweight ex-chancellor Ken Clarke.
