Jonathan Jones

Budget 2013: The public’s verdict

We’ve got the first post-Budget polling from YouGov, and it brings mixed news for George Osborne. Certainly, this Budget doesn’t seem (so far) to have dented the Chancellor’s reputation the way last year’s did — but nor has it yet enhanced it as his 2011 Budget seemed to.

And on the question of which would make the better Chancellor, Osborne maintains the six-point lead over Ed Balls he has held since November 2011.

And on the all-important criterion of ‘fairness’, Wednesday’s Budget scores relatively well. 39 per cent think it’s fair, while 31 per cent say it isn’t. That’s a big improvement on last year, when 32 per cent said the Budget was fair and 48 per cent declared it unfair. On the other hand, very few believe the Budget will make them and their family (14 per cent) — or the country as a whole (10 per cent) — better off.

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