LABOUR remains well ahead of the Conservatives as the party most trusted to take the right decisions on taxes, spending and the euro, despite the mixed reception to Wednesday’s Budget.

A new Populus poll for The Times, undertaken on Thursday, shows that big increases in national insurance contributions and council tax coming through this month have not yet helped the Tories to overtake Labour. A high proportion of voters say the Budget has made no real difference, partly because it was totally overshadowed by the war in Iraq and the fall of Baghdad.

The word “trust” is a key influence on political attitudes as Populus asked which party is most trusted to take the right economic decisions. The result, a continuing advantage for Labour, show how far behind the Tories still are. The Liberal Democrats trail in third place on each question.

Despite a continuing high level of opposition to joining the euro, the public still trusts Labour more than the Tories to take the right decision on entry, by 32 to 20 per cent. This underlines the importance of the Treasury’s assessment and the expected “not yet” verdict which could come at the end of this month.

Even on taxes, where Michael Howard, the Shadow Chancellor, has repeatedly highlighted the size of current increases, Labour is still trusted by 31 per cent to take the right decisions. This compares with 18 per cent who trust the Tories on tax.

Labour has a bigger advantage on public spending, 36 to 18 per cent. The slowdown in growth has not dented Labour’s lead over the Tories on managing the economy overall, 38 to 22 per cent. A higher proportion of Labour voters trust their party to handle these issues than supporters of either the Tories or the Lib Dems trust their party to take the right decisions.

The Conservatives trail the Lib Dems on three of the four issues (the exception being economic management) among those aged under 35 and lead on all four among over-65s. Women are more likely than men to say they don’t know which party can be most trusted, and less likely to say that they trust the Tories most to handle these economic issues.

More than half the public, including more than three fifths of Tory and Labour voters, say that Budget measures have made no real difference to them and their families. About the only measure to receive much attention was the proposed Child Trust Fund under which £250 is being set aside for every baby born after last September, with £500 going to the poorest families. By a two-to-one margin (62 to 31 per cent), people think this sounds like a good idea.

Populus interviewed a random sample of 510 adults aged over 18 by telephone on April 10. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to be representative of all adults.

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