Brown's crisis handling fails to win over voters

GREAT BRITON :

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown may have won international praise for taking the lead in the financial crisis, but his performance has failed to improve his prospects at home, a poll Sunday showed.

Only 13 percent of those questioned are more likely to vote for his ruling Labour party as a result of his handling of the crisis, an ICM survey for the News of the World newspaper found.

Another 22 percent said they were less likely to vote Labour, while 59 percent told the pollster that Brown's response to the difficult economic situation would make no difference to the way they vote.

The main opposition Conservatives have led Labour in the polls for weeks, with a general election due to take place by 2010.

People seem unwilling to change their voting intentions despite a majority of respondents expressing admiration for Brown's actions, which included mounting the first extensive bank bailout plan of any major economy.

Fifty-four percent of respondents said they felt Brown had done well battling the turmoil and only 36 percent said he had done badly.

The phone poll of 1,041 adults was carried out between Wednesday and Friday.

London, Sunday, AFP