Even in his darkest nightmares, Gordon Brown could not have imagined that it would go as badly as this. His first anniversary in Downing Street is still three months away and he has already broken one record: the sharpest drop in ratings of any modern-day prime minister. Last summer, according to YouGov, he had a positive approval rating of nearly 50%; now nearly 40% think he is doing badly - almost a complete reversal. If Mr Brown was quoted on the stock market, a plunge like that would tell you he was about to go bust. Perhaps he is.

The analogy is not inappropriate, given that the economy is at the heart of Mr Brown’s problems. His strongest point as chancellor is proving to be his weakest as prime minister. The precise figures can be disputed but there was a neat symmetry in the Halifax’s announcement last week of the sharpest drop in house prices since September 1992. That was when it all went wrong for the Tories with Black Wednesday, rising taxes and the housing crash destroying their reputation for economic competence.

History, even if it is not exactly repeating itself, has a redolent echo. Mr Brown, like John Major before him, is even presiding over a pound tumbling in Europe as holidaymakers will discover to their cost. The Council of Mortgage Lenders warned that lending could halve this year - with a devastating impact on the housing market - unless there is prompt action by the Bank of England and the Treasury. Such a response has been painfully slow in coming and when it does it may be too late. The prime minister may soon discover that his proud boasts about the economy’s record under his management are about to turn to ashes. Few remember the good times when it turns nasty.

It is a law of politics that when things go wrong for a government, they do so on every front. Having got away with inflicting higher taxes on us for years, Mr Brown is finally getting his come-uppance. The abolition of the 10p starting rate of income tax has brought an outcry even on the Labour benches. The scrapping of the 10p rate of capital gains tax damaged the government’s relationship with much of the business community. The dithering that began with last autumn’s nonelection, a decision he must now regret every bit as much as Jim Callaghan did 30 years ago, has become the defining characteristic of the Brown administration.

Mr Brown’s capacity for self-inflicted wounds is becoming legendary. Did he ever intend to go to the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics this summer? Not according to Downing Street; he always meant to go to the closing ceremony. Why didn’t he say so? Mr Brown had every opportunity, most recently at a joint press conference with President Sarkozy of France. Instead he has achieved the worst of all worlds; offending the Chinese and making it appear that he is bending with the prevailing wind.

We should not forget the Conservatives are pursuing a shrewd course as the government implodes. They are not overplaying their hand, aware that they could be seen to be gloating as people suffer in an economic downturn. Quietly, however, the party is building a reputation. No longer, given the youth and inexperience of much of the cabinet, does the opposition look like such a risk.

With Tony Blair as prime minister and Mr Brown as chancellor, the government was formidable. Our poll shows that were Mr Blair still prime minister rather than raking in fat fees on the international rubber chicken circuit, Labour would be within striking distance of the Tories. Now that spell is broken. Alistair Darling is floundering at the Treasury and ministers appear to be jockeying for position in the post-Brown era. Only 11% of people think Labour will win the next election. Mr Brown, as he is fond of saying, was at the birth of the new Labour era. The way things are going, he will preside over its death.