Trust in Labour's management of the economy has taken another knock. In a Populus poll undertaken over the weekend - the same one which gave the Conservatives an 8% overall lead - the Conservatives and LibDems are both up on overall economic management, fairness of taxes and long-termism.
The fall in trust in Labour to get the balance right between taxes and public spending, however, was not matched by much of an increase in trust for the other parties on the issue, particularly the LibDems. Peter Riddell, whose graphic in today's Times we have used above, notes:
"The latest Populus poll for The Times, undertaken over the weekend, shows that on six measures of economic trust, the Tories are now ahead on four, and are only just behind on two. They lead narrowly on all six among women, but on only two with men. The Tories are ahead on all six measures among professionals and managers, and Labour is ahead on all six only among unskilled workers."
Polls on economic competency are normally very important, but with the Chancellor who has presided over the economy for the last ten years likely to be the next Labour leader - they are absolutely crucial for David Cameron.
Deputy Editor
Great news. This is a great achievement for George Osborne and David Cameron in the face of a generally healthy economy. However, unless we continue to improve on this measure we're very unlikely to win an election - in the end people vote with their mortgages.
Posted by: John | March 07, 2007 at 10:07
We paid a heavy price for the ERM disaster. The public have long memories. Yet those who advocated joining the ERM are members of Dave's Foreign Policy Council - Patten, Hurd, Hezza etc. It will be interesting to see Dave's advice when Gordon Brown finally leaks them. There are rumours that Cameron advised Lamont to join the Euro.
Posted by: thatcherite | March 07, 2007 at 11:33