Britannia Radio

There are no top-line headlines to be got out of this rather badly 
phrased poll.  It's interesting nonetheless.

On another subject related to polls.  I have examined the detailed 
figures from YouGov earlier in the week and find that the slight 
swing towards Labour was rentirely due to Scottish voters becoming 
frightened about Scottish independence and reverting to Labour from 
SNP.  This will not bother the Tories too much because the number of 
marginal seats where the top two parties are Tory and Labour is minute !

xxxxxxxxxxxxx cs
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THE TIMES   28.11.08
Support for Gordon Brown plummets over economic rescue
Peter Riddell

Support for Gordon Brown as the right leader to deal with the 
recession has fallen sharply over the past fortnight, a Populus poll 
for The Times has found. It shows that only just over a third of 
British voters think the Government's measures to boost the economy 
will make things better in either the short or long term.

Just as many people think that the package announced on Monday by 
Alistair Darling will make no real difference to the economy either 
way. However, fewer than a fifth believe the measures will make 
things worse in the short term, over the next few months, while a 
quarter say they will make things worse over the long-term period of 
the next few years.

Since the last Populus poll on November 7 to 9, Mr Brown has dropped 
sharply as the best leader "right now, to deal with Britain's economy 
in recession", from 52 to 42 per cent, with a big fall among the 
middle classes. But he is still ahead of David Cameron, on 36 per 
cent, up four points. Meanwhile, Mr Cameron is still ahead, by 41 to 
33 per cent, as the preferred leader to take Britain forward after 
the next general election.

The poll undertaken on Tuesday and Wednesday [not really time enough 
for people to have worked it all out.  after all some of the pundits 
are only just beginnning to find all the snags in the small print! -
cs]  suggests that the public remains confused about the economic 
situation: unsure about why the economy has deteriorated so quickly; 
and unsure whether the Government response is correct and whether it 
will work.

Over half the public (54 per cent) say they would put aside and save 
any money they end up with as a result of Mr Darling's measures. But 
28 per cent say they would use any money to "catch up on bills" they 
have fallen behind with. Middle-class people are much more inclined 
to save and working-class voters to catch up on bills. [What a silly 
question!  Saving and getting unpaid bills settled are two sides of 
the same coin!  Prudence! -cs]  Just under a fifth (18 per cent), 
evenly spread across the classes, would spend any money on "things 
you might not otherwise have bought".

Voters generally back the decision to introduce a new 45 per cent top 
rate of income tax for those earning more than £150,000 a year. 
However, there are contradictory views. Two thirds say "it is fair 
and right for the richest people in Britain to pay more of the cost 
of measures to avoid the recession", while just over a half, 54 per 
cent, say "the tax rise on high earners signals the end of New Labour 
and a shift to the left by Mr Brown". Labour voters are evenly split, 
45 to 46 per cent, on this statement.

However, roughly two fifths, 42 per cent, say that "raising the top 
rate of income tax is an attack on aspiration and entrepreneurship", 
with 51 per cent disagreeing.

Voters are split, 44 to 50 per cent, on the statement that "rather 
than raise taxes on high earners, it would be better to cut back the 
growth of public spending even more". The number favouring a tighter 
spending squeeze is higher than those thinking that Monday's measures 
will make things better. Tory voters agree by 60 to 34 per cent, 
though Labour ones disagree by 56 to 40 per cent.

There was no voting intention question, but the poll suggests that Mr 
Brown and Mr Darling have retained their lead as most trusted to deal 
with Britain's economic problems in the months and years ahead, by 38 
to 35 per cent over Mr Cameron and George Osborne. This is a slight 
shift from a 36 to 33 per cent margin in a Populus poll a fortnight ago.

The public's response is likely to shift over the next few weeks as 
more evidence emerges about the depth of the recession and about 
whether banks are resuming lending.
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Populus interviewed a random sample of 1,010 adults over 18 by 
telephone on November 25 to 26. Interviews were conducted across the 
country and results have been weighted to be representative of all 
adults. For more details, see www.populus.co.uk .