February 22, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most people in Britain think poorly of Gordon Brown’s performance, according to a poll by YouGov. 57 per cent of respondents believe Brown is doing badly as prime minister, up one point since January.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most people in Britain think poorly of Gordon Brown’s performance, according to a poll by YouGov. 57 per cent of respondents believe Brown is doing badly as prime minister, up one point since January.

In June 2007, Gordon Brown officially became Labour leader and prime minister, replacing Tony Blair. Brown had worked as chancellor of the exchequer. Blair served as Britain’s prime minister since May 1997, winning majority mandates in the 1997, 2001 and 2005 elections to the House of Commons.

Since December 2005, David Cameron has been the leader of the Conservative party. In October 2007, Cameron challenged Brown to call a snap election, but the prime minister later announced he would not hold an early ballot. 51 per cent of respondents think Cameron is doing a good job as leader of the opposition, down four points in a month.

In December 2007, current parliamentarian Nick Clegg became the new leader of the Liberal Democrats, defeating environment spokesman Chris Huhne in a leadership ballot by just over 500 votes.

On Feb. 18, Cameron unveiled a series of measures to support local farming—which he said has been greatly affected by subsidies for farmers across Europe—and urged agricultural producers to "reconnect with their customers" by offering more organic foods, farmers’ markets and local shops. The Tory leader declared: "These three things, I believe, will help us face down the ever-growing threat to our food security."

The next election to the House of Commons must be held on or before Jun. 3, 2010. Sitting prime ministers can dissolve Parliament and call an early ballot at their discretion.

Polling Data

Do you think Gordon Brown is doing well or badly as prime minister?

	Feb. 2008	Jan. 2008	Dec. 2007
Well	36%	35%	32%
Badly	57%	56%	68%
Don’t know	7%	10%	9%

Do you think David Cameron is doing well or badly as Conservative leader?

	Feb. 2008	Jan. 2008	Dec. 2007
Well	51%	55%	53%
Badly	37%	30%	33%
Don’t know	12%	15%	15%

Source: YouGov
Methodology: Online interviews with 2,469 British adults, conducted on Feb. 14 and Feb. 15, 2008. No margin of error was provided.