April 26, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most people in Britain think the opposition leader is doing a better job in his post than the prime minister is in his, according to a poll by YouGov. 65 per cent of respondents say Gordon Brown is doing a bad job as head of government, while 51 per cent believe Conservative leader David Cameron is doing well as head of his party.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most people in Britain think the opposition leader is doing a better job in his post than the prime minister is in his, according to a poll by YouGov. 65 per cent of respondents say Gordon Brown is doing a bad job as head of government, while 51 per cent believe Conservative leader David Cameron is doing well as head of his party.

Public support for Brown has fallen by ten points since February, while backing for Cameron has remained stable since then.

In June 2007, 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, 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.

On Apr. 23, Brown called for the international community to acknowledge India’s growing importance and influence in world affairs, and urged it to accept the country as a major partner in the G-8 or group of industrialized countries, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), declaring, "A Security Council without India cannot be a Security Council reflecting the reality of the day; (and) a G-8 that discusses the world economy without involving India cannot be a G-8 that is discussing all the details of what needs to be done in the world economy."

Polling Data

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

	Apr. 2008	Mar. 2008	Feb. 2008
Well	26%	33%	36%
Badly	65%	59%	57%
Don’t know	7%	8%	7%

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

	Apr. 2008	Mar. 2008	Feb. 2008
Well	51%	51%	51%
Badly	38%	37%	37%
Don’t know	11%	12%	12%

Source: YouGov
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,755 British voters, conducted on Apr. 10 and Apr. 11, 2008. No margin of error was provided.