March 21, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The majority of people in Britain still think poorly of Gordon Brown’s performance, according to a poll by YouGov. 59 per cent of respondents think their prime minister is doing badly as leader of the government, up two points since February.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The majority of people in Britain still think poorly of Gordon Brown’s performance, according to a poll by YouGov. 59 per cent of respondents think their prime minister is doing badly as leader of the government, up two points since February.

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, 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.

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 Mar. 19, Brown discussed his views on security, saying, "Starting later this year, we will openly publish for the first time a national register of risks—information that was previously held confidentially within government—so the British public can see at first hand the challenges we face and the levels of threat we have assessed. (...) Our new approach to security means improved local resilience against emergencies, building and strengthening local capacity to respond effectively in a range of circumstances from floods to possible terrorism incidents."

Cameron dismissed the idea as "another talking shop", and added: "Surely a proper national security council would have dedicated staff and decision making powers?"

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?

	Mar. 2008	Feb. 2008	Jan. 2008
Well	33%	36%	35%
Badly	59%	57%	56%
Don’t know	8%	7%	10%

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

	Mar. 2008	Feb. 2008	Jan. 2008
Well	51%	51%	55%
Badly	37%	37%	30%
Don’t know	12%	12%	15%

Source: YouGov
Methodology: Online interviews with 2,311 British adults, conducted on Mar. 13 and Mar. 14, 2008. No margin of error was provided.