Attitudes Towards The Budget And Gordon Brown

Ipsos's post-Budget survey shows that the proportion of voters satisfied with the way Gordon Brown is doing his job as Chancellor has fallen by ten percentage points since December (32% vs 42%).

Ipsos's post-Budget survey shows that the proportion of voters satisfied with the way Gordon Brown is doing his job as Chancellor has fallen by ten percentage points since December (32% vs 42%). Less than a quarter of the public (21%) agree that Budget proposals are a good thing for them personally in contrast to 45% who agree with this statement after the 2002 Budget. In addition, four in ten (41%) think the 2007 Budget proposals are bad for the country as a whole, by far the largest proportion over the last seven years.

As Gordon Brown prepares to launch his Labour leadership bid, a similar proportion (42%) think he would be a bad prime minister, with only a quarter of voters (25%) actively endorsing him as a good candidate for the premiership. The challenge he faces is showing voters that he is not simply a good Chancellor.

Topline Results

  • Ipsos interviewed 2,093 British adults age 18+
  • Interviews were carried out face-to-face in home between 30 March and 5 April 2007
  • Where figures do not sum to 100 per cent, this may be due to computer rounding, multiple codes or the exclusion of "Not stated"
  • All answers are based on all respondents (2,093) unless indicated otherwise
  • Questions were rotated so that for 1,042 responses the were asked in the order in which they appear below, and for the other 1,051 the were asked in the order of Q4, Q1, Q2, Q3
  • Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.
  • Full data tabulations (weighted and unweighted) are available upon request.

Q1 Are satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Gordon Brown is doing his job as Chancellor of the Exchequer?

160 %
Satisfied 32
Dissatisfied 45
Don't know 23

Q2 From what you know, or have heard, do you think the Budget proposals are a good thing or a bad thing for you personally?

160 %
Good thing 21
Bad thing 44
Don't know 35

Q3 From what you know, or have heard, do you think the Budget proposals are a good thing or a bad thing for the country as a whole?

160 %
Good thing 25
Bad thing 41
Don't know 34

Q4 Do you think that if he is elected Labour Leader, Gordon Brown will be a good or a bad Prime Minister?

160 %
Good Prime Minister 25
Bad Prime Minister 42
Don't know 33

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