The Conservative lead is cut to nine points in our ComRes opinion poll in The Independent on Sunday tomorrow. Gordon Brown will be pleased that he is still going in the right direction, but might have hoped for more after a week in which Paul Krugman, Nobel prize-winning economist, said he had singlehandedly saved the world's financial system and the cartoonists all portrayed him as a superhero.
The figures are, with the change from the most recent ComRes in The Independent (30 Sept):
Conservative 40% -1
Labour 31% +2
Liberal Democrat 16% -2
Other 13% +1
Our other findings suggest that most people are not that impressed by Brown's handling of the crisis. They don't think he should have used taxpayers' money to bail out the banks, and they don't think it will help Labour at the next election. On the other hand, they are even-handed in their negativity, in that they do not think that David Cameron would have done any better if he had been prime minister.
We asked whether people agreed or disagreed with the following statements:
It is right that taxpayers’ money should be used to bail out banks.
Agree 37% Disagree 58%
I will scale back my Christmas spending plans to save money.
Agree 62% Disagree 36%
Gordon Brown’s decisive handling of the bank crisis means that Labour has a good chance of winning the next election.
Agree 37% Disagree 54%
If David Cameron had been prime minister, he would have handled the bank crisis better than Gordon Brown.
Agree 25% Disagree 56%
ComRes telephoned 1,007 GB adults on 15 and 16 October 2008. Data were weighted by past vote recall. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Full tables at ComRes.
Question 3
'Given Brown's DECISIVE handling....?'
Leading question?
It would never be allowed in court.
Bearing in mind a poll in The Times said over 40% of people thought the Government had been too slow in setting up the bailout, you have just killed the vaidlity of that question.
Posted by: SallyC | Saturday, 18 October 2008 at 03:27 PM
Considering the near universal love-in with Brown by the media especially the BBC over the current crisis these are poor figures indeed for Labour.
Posted by: Peter Wilson | Saturday, 18 October 2008 at 10:00 PM
"Gordon Brown’s decisive handling of the bank crisis?"
Agree with SallyC. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Posted by: robin | Saturday, 18 October 2008 at 10:17 PM