There is a fantastic chart on page 7 of The Times today (annoyingly, I can’t find it online) which shows just how deeply and personally unpopular Brown is. Here are his personal ratings on a series of ‘gut check’ questions with Cameron’s in brackets.
Strong 29 (57)
Or
Weak 67 (33)
Winner 21 (60)
Or
Loser 74 (31)
Good for you and your family 22 (48)
Or
Bad for you and your family 73 (36)
Up to the job of being Prime Minister 25 (55)
Or
Not up to the Job 72 (37)
In touch 27 (56)
Or
Out of touch 71 (37)
Mean what he says 31 (30)
Or
Says what he thinks people want to hear 66 (630
For the many 41 (52)
Or
For the few 54 (40)
These numbers show just what a drag on the Labour ticket Brown is. When 73 percent of voters think your leader is bad for them and their family then a party has little chance.
The other thing that these questions show is how successful Cameron has been in both detoxifying the Tory brand and in fashioning himself as a potential Prime Minister; it is a major achievement for an opposition leader to have convinced the majority of the electorate that he is up to the job of being PM.
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