Brown is urged to focus on domestic problems
Poll reveals even Labour supporters oppose the Prime Minister's emphasis on global solutions to economic crisis
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Premises across the City were boarded up yesterday as the capital braced itself for protests during the summit
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The public overwhelmingly wants Gordon Brown to turn his attention to the British economy rather than seek a global solution to the recession, according to a ComRes survey for The Independent.
The findings are a severe setback to the Prime Minister as world leaders fly in to London for the G20 summit he will chair on Thursday.
Some 72 per cent of those interviewed believe that he should focus more on a domestic solution than a global one. Just 22 per cent favour his global strategy. Even Labour supporters are not convinced about Mr Brown's emphasis: 66 per cent of them favour a more domestic approach.
The figures will fuel growing fears among Labour MPs, including some ministers, that Mr Brown is expending too much energy on his goal of a "global new deal". Some allies have warned him privately that there are "no votes in it" for him in Britain, while opposition politicians criticised his five-day, three-continent tour last week ahead of the G20 meeting.
According to ComRes, the public also opposes, by a margin of two to one, the Prime Minister's attempt to spend his way out of recession. Only 30 per cent agree that government borrowing should be raised to boost the economy if that means tax rises in future, while 62 per cent disagree.
Fewer than one in three people (31 per cent) agree that the Prime Minister has the right policies to get Britain out of recession, while 58 per cent disagree. And only 27 per cent are optimistic that the economy will improve before the end of this year, with 70 per cent disagreeing. Less than half of Labour supporters (46 per cent) believe things will get better by December, while Tory (22 per cent) and Liberal Democrats (24 per cent) supporters are even more gloomy.
ComRes puts the Conservatives 12 points ahead of Labour, down from 16 last month. The Tories are on 40 per cent (down four points on last month), Labour 28 per cent (no change), Liberal Democrats 18 per cent (up one point) and other parties 14 per cent (up three). At a general election, these figures would give the Tories an overall majority of 50.
According to ComRes, 93 per cent of people who voted Tory in 2005 would do so in an election held now, while only 75 per cent of Labour voters and 66 per cent of Liberal Democrat voters last time would stick with the same party. Some 12 per cent of Labour and 16 per cent of Liberal Democrat voters in 2005 would back the Tories. The Tories lead Labour among all demographic groups and all regions except Scotland.
Brown allies insist that he will switch his attention to the domestic political agenda after Thursday's summit, for which President Barack Obama arrives in London tonight. Although a further meeting of G20 leaders is expected to be held later this year, Mr Brown does not want to chair it. He hopes governments will be ready to consider a further fiscal stimulus for 2010.
Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, wants the G20 to meet after a session of the G8 wealthiest nations in Sardinia in July. Despite the poll findings, the Prime Minister is unrepentant in his view that the root causes of the crisis are global and require international agreement. In a speech at St Paul's Cathedral today, Mr Brown will insist: "I understand that people feel unsettled, and that the pain of this current recession is all too real."
He will defend open markets and free trade but say the old consensus in favour of free markets is over. "This is the great challenge of our generation: instead of the free market becoming a free-for-all, can we instead build anew a market system which respects the values we celebrate in our everyday lives?" he will say.
Last night, Mr Brown set five tests for Thursday's summit: extra money for bodies such as the International Monetary Fund; cleaning up the banking system; doing "whatever is necessary" to bring about growth; resisting protectionism and boosting trade; and delivering a low-carbon and sustainable recovery.
The Prime Minister said "a lot of work" was still needed to reach agreement, and called on the world to "rise to the challenge".
Speaking alongside the Mexican President, Felipe Calderon, in Downing Street, Mr Brown said: "This is a decisive moment for the world economy. We have a choice to make."
ComRes telephoned 1,002 British adults between 27-29 March. Data were weighted by past vote recall. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Full tables at www.comres.co.uk.
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Comments
Even Gordon thingy can be right sometimes....!
The sensible course of action in the circumstances is to divert resources out the global stage strutting role (and corporate welfare wars) as a preposterous down at heel banana republic (without a banana crop to sell) and plain silly propping up of dead wood - into education, education, education, and infrastructural projects.
The goons who rule (as stooges of a darker force) prefer to print money pursuant to the goal of diverting wealth out of the pockets of the poor, the prudent saver, and the pensioner, into subsidies for spivs and dead wood.
Their interventions are a severe blow to Brown who expected to be recognised as a 'superman' type figure. Unfortunately for him, his brazen reputation is in tatters and this summit will certainly not be known as the second Bretton Woods.
Let Brown & Co make absolute idiots of themselves on the International stage and then maybe, just maybe the British electorate will do its duty and discard this shower of pure unadulterated dung to its righful place. In effect down the CRAPPER!
It is not a policy point - it is because he really has no choice.
Poor old useless brown - out of his depth, tainted by corrupt advisers and colleagues. A useless and ineffective man.
Perhaps they could run a polebased on "would you prefer he stayed global, or killed himself"
I reckon 82% the latter.
It's madness to believe there is a single set of values to unite this nation. I suggest this nation has never been more divided, more bitter and more angry with establishment and their phoney solutions than at any other time.
to the position we now find ourselves in expect other nations to
listen to anything he has to say??
From the looks of the comments so far Independent readers are mostly wrong, too. Not liking the guy is one thing; recognising good policy is another.
And could you explain what you mean by "... to please those over the shoulders of Blatcherist governments who benefit from corporate welfare wars and dole and deliver fat personal pension plans for pols" ? No, on second thought, never mind.
Is that a Gerald Scarfe ?
Put simply, the biggest beneficiaries are those able to borrow by the truckload, and the biggest losers are those who can't borrow at all.
Definition of a 'spiv' : a person without evident productive employment who makes money by various dubious schemes and goes about smartly dressed and having a good time.
Blatcherist governments are stooges of organised economic crime syndicates, that are the real governments of pseudo-democracies nominally governed by self-serving organised politcal gangs that sell their services to the highest bidder
And maybe you could try writing in your natural voice instead of using all those strange words and pretending to be more knowledgable than you really are. It's not the individual words, see, it's the way you can't write a coherent sentence that's the problem.
As for stealing the wealth of the poor.... is that the rich poor, then ? And if the big borrowers are the biggest beneficiaries, what happens to the big lenders that facilitate them ? You say the biggest losers are the poor - they must be the ones that loaned all that wealth of theirs to the rich guys who were able to borrow it. Yeah, I think I follow you...
As I was saying, before interruoted by a prattler, inflation *will* fleece the poor and the prudent, in order to subsidise the spiv, prop up dead wood, and buy fat personal pension plans for snouts
Yes, the UK's just like Zimbabwe. It's all the sunshine that does it.
He should concentrate on the UK and buy British.
Yes, it will beggar both our neighbours and ourselves, but it will make us feel better.
Gordon Brown introduced the 'Tripartite' regulatory system involving the Treasury, the Bank of England and the FAS. A decade later he has united the heads of each of these institutions, Darling, King and Adair, in opposition to his policies!
After eleven years as Chancellor, RBS. HBOS and now Lloyds have failed, what a record for a man who prided himself on 'prudence'.
On the international stage his 'spend' spend, spend' policy has been rejected by France, Germany and the head of the EU.
The G20 summit will be his swan song, no significant policy initiatives will be introduced, the sound bite of "British jobs for British workers" will haunt him as he pleads for other countries not to opt for protectionism, and the Daniel Hannan comments made when Brown addressed the EU will be balanced against Browns record.
As CEO of UK plc he should be forced to resign.
"This is not an economic problem. It's the UK destroying itself, from within. Recessions, even depressions, can be overcome. The purposeful destruction of the Uk's indigenous population, by surplanting others will destroy this Island. It continues, at a pace."
You are right. You are one of the few who see the truth. Despite the best efforts of the BBC and the Lobby to obfuscate, abuse, distract and deceive - the truth is emerging. But it is far too late. The irreversible damage has been done.
a) as a source of cheap fodder, for the black economy that kept the Brown one afloat (and the rat-brain Blair in power) and
b) as a handy means of keeping people too busy bitching among themselves to focus on their parasites;
has escaped from control and become a real threat to what little remains of the fabric of society after thirty years of Blatcherist government.
What has this PM and his Government given to UK,?
2.5% vat reduction
Sold off our Gold reserves at the lowest price.
Ruined company pensions schemes
10p Income tax farce
European referendum fiasco
Allowed banking to run riot without regulation
Failed to sort out MPs expenses fiddles
And now he tries to tell World Leaders that he has the solution to Global problems.
He tells us he won't walk past on the other side of the street-
No but then he isn't in the real world.
If most decide not to devalue, the UK will implode, crushed by the rising import costs and foreign debts. In other words, IMF time
Last November, all of my clients froze spending in the UK completely.
I am in regular contact with the Directors. This has not changed in the last 6 months. And it has never happened before.
There were many many signs, that Germany and France would utterly reject any Inflationary, Immoral so called solutions offered by the UK government.
Is our government really that incompetent?
I find it very hard to believe, that Brown believed for an instant that Germany and France would agree to their measures.
The blue print for Browns plan to fail was there for anyone to see.
The government has already engineered a 30percent drop in the pound. QE, printing money is devaluing the pound in your pocket. Beware. The UK government is out to STEAL as much as they can get away with.
Deflation is a ruse, a conspiracy supported by many vested political interests.
It is a justification for a highly inflationary monetary policy in the face of high inflation.
What is more astonishing is how the population is content to sit back and watch this crime take place. Or perhaps most have been brainwashed by the government's efficient propaganda machine.
I am a professional engineer, who has been priced out of the housing market for a decade, and had no work since August.
Ive been living off my savings for the last six months, paying 650 pounds per month rent, whilst over 30,000 people with tracker mortages, pay as little as one pence per month, to live in massively overpriced 400k houses.
Gordon Brown is a criminal. Who is robbing savers, for no valid economic reason whatsoever.
All my savings will probably be gone within 18 months. So it feels like Ive worked for ten years for nothing.
I called the job centre. I cannot 'sign on' as I have over 16k in savings. [Even thouhg ive paid NI for my entire life]
It should no longer be the nihilists from the far left, screaming on the streets, it should be the quiet suburban professional middle classes.
There are 7 savers for every 1 debtor in the UK. Thats a clear majority who totally disagree with Browns plans. Of course he thinks, once again, that he knows best.
They are the ones who will have nothing, if we dont stop this maniac Brown and his inflationary measures, which other countries dont need, because they have not completely mismanaged the economy, like Brown has, for the last ten years.
It beggars belief what these politiicans get away with.
And the media just pussy foot around them.
Don't you know, our great leader is trying to help all those poor hardworking, house buying families?
Stop being so selfish! Just withdraw your savings and give them to a local borrow-to-let landlord, or else Mr Brown will do it for you!
Brown does not care about this country. Together with his bunch of incompetent self serving lying political cronies, he has ruined England.
These politicians have no sense of guilt or culpability, and have no integrity.
This once great nation has become the laughing stock of the world thanks to this cretin and his predecessor Blair.
Prudence and the end of boom and bust? I would like to think those words will haunt him for the rest of his life, although I doubt it. His self delusional attitude will convince him that the failed economy is everyone else's fault except for him.
And as for muticulturalism, political correctness, dismantling of traditions, intrusive measures under the guise of protection from terrorism, inappropriate IT experiments, politicisation of the police, BBC, etc, the 'New labour' experiment has topped it all with ruining the UK economy.
Will the last Englishman to leave the country please switch off the lights.
(There again, with the way the energy policies have been run by this and previous governments, there will not be any lights to switch off, anyway).
The worlds at my feet and I'm going to thrive
Yes I have the global soluuuution
And I'll start with your national insurance contribuuuuution
There will be nothing left in your pension pot
That's mine to spend in case you forgot
As for tomorrow I don't give a shit
It's not me that breached my credit card limit
I believe that light touch regulation
Is a sure fire way of fleecing the nation
When I talk about the values we hold dear
That's when you've really got something to fear
When I've finished my speech at the G20
I'll be coming back with bargains a plenty
For I don't give a F*CK about you homogenised wankers
Because I have a new job for the merchant bankers
He forced through the "lisbon treaty", saying that the majority want it, well give us a chance to vote and show you how wrong you are, but alas you wont.
14 months left of this idiot and we dont have enough HIGHLY paid MPs who have the nerve, conscience or civil pride to "vote no confidence", they wont even speak out against this man.
We need to get rid of these parasites and try to get people who want to serve the people and not their bank accounts, family and friends.
Times up, PLEASE RESIGN