Gordon Brown’s Popularity Sinks Even Lower
Peter Riddell
The Times Online
Public support for Labour and Gordon Brown continues to plunge to new lows with the Prime Minister’s leadership rating falling to a level even below that suffered by Iain Duncan Smith according to a new poll for The Times.
Labour’s rating has dropped by 4 points since early May to 25 per cent, with the Conservatives up 5 points to 45 per cent. This is by far the worst Labour position since 1997 and the best Tory one. The Liberal Democrats are up one point at 20 per cent, according to the Populus poll.
Only three-fifths of those who voted Labour in 2005 say they would do so now, compared with 95 per cent of Tories staying loyal. Almost one in five of those who voted Labour in 2005 say they would vote Tory in an election now.
Moreover, Mr Brown has lost the benefit of the doubt of voters. His leader rating (on a 0 to 10 scale of very bad to very good) has fallen for the fifth time running, down from a peak of 5.49 last July to 3.9 now. This is lower any of the other seven leaders of the main parties since the index was introduced five years ago. The previous low, of 4.00, was for the short-lived former Conservative leader Mr Duncan Smith in February 2003.
Mr Brown’s rating is particularly poor amongst the fifth of Labour’s 2005 voters who now say they would back the Tories, down at just 3.55. David Cameron’s personal rating, at 5.25, is around the top end of his range as leader.
As worrying for Mr Brown is that the number trusting Alistair Darling and him to deal with any economic problems is now just 32 per cent, well behind David Cameron and George Osborne on 49 per cent. Last September, the Labour team was 61 to 27 per cent ahead.
Just 15 per cent now say they are satisfied with the Labour Government, including fewer than one in four of those who voted for the party in 2005. The number of voters saying they would rather have the Tories in office, has, at 42 per cent, for the first time, almost converged with the 44 per cent either satisfied with Labour or dissatisfied but still preferring them to the Tories.
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