Gordon Brown has suffered a devastating collapse in his public standing, according to a new survey published in The Observer today which will put his leadership under intensified pressure.
As the Prime Minister begins his fightback with new proposals entitling mothers to more flexible working hours, the research shows that only one in five voters thinks he is doing a good job. He is rated worse than David Cameron on every key leadership quality, including competence, decisiveness, fairness, likeability, trustworthiness and strength.
A unique opinion tracker using a panel of 5,000 voters, much larger than conventional opinion polls, reveals that he is floundering in his attempt to campaign for public respect after Labour’s large losses in the council elections. Three-quarters think he is doing a bad job, and nearly half of them believe he is doing a very bad job, according to the first results from the survey, which was published on the website PoliticsHome.com.
In what is expected to be one of his toughest weeks yet, Brown is expected to show his support for the rights of millions more mothers to request flexible working hours as Labour attempts to pick itself up after its disastrous showing in the local elections.
A government review by Sainsbury’s human resources director Imelda Walsh will recommend that millions of working mothers should gain the right to demand flexible hours. At present only mothers of children up to the age of six, those caring for elderly relatives or those whose child has a disability are entitled to make such a request.
Walsh will suggest that the current age limit should be at least doubled to include children up to 12, giving new rights to a least 2.6 million parents. Her recommendations are expected to be ‘warmly’ received by Downing Street.
Later this week the Prime Minister is expected to announce a draft legislative programme for the next parliamentary session, foreshadowing the Queen’s Speech in the autumn.
Source: The Guardian.
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