Gordon Brown’s public standing as the likely next prime minister has fallen sharply, according to a new poll for The Times.

The Populus poll, undertaken on Wednesday evening and Thursday as voters digested the Budget measures, shows that more than twice as many people think that they will pay higher rather than lower taxes than before.

The most worrying finding for Mr Brown is that the number of voters thinking that he will be a good prime minister has dropped from 40 to 30 per cent since last December. Over the same three months, the number believing that he will not be a good prime minister has risen by eight points to 57 per cent.

The decline in the number thinking he will make a good prime minister has been greatest among those aged 18 to 24 (down 29 points) and those aged 25 to 34 (down 18 points). This decline has been much less severe among the middle-aged and the over65s.

Only 11 per cent think that they will pay less tax than before, with 26 per cent believing that they will pay more tax. Even a fifth (22 per cent) of unskilled workers, the group most likely to be in receipt of state benefits and tax credits, think that they will pay more in taxes. Moreover, by a three-to-one margin (26 per cent to 8 per cent), voters say that the Budget will make them less rather than more likely to vote Labour at the next election with Mr Brown as leader. However, 60 per cent say that it will make no real difference.

Nearly a third of those aged 45 to 54 and those living in the Midlands, Wales and the South East say that they are now less likely to vote Labour.

A majority of voters regard Mr Brown as a good chancellor: 57 per cent, down four points since December. The decline is sharper among women (11 points) and those aged 18 to 34 (10 points) and semi-skilled manual workers (11 points). There has been a small rise in the number regarding him as not a good chancellor, at 34 per cent, up two points.

The charge by the former Cabinet Secretary Lord Turnbull that Mr Brown displays “Stalinist ruthlessness” has left most voters unmoved, with 70 per cent saying that it makes no difference to their view of whether Mr Brown should take over from Tony Blair.

Some 7 per cent say that it has made them more in favour of Mr Brown succeeding and 21 per cent more opposed. Men, 24 per cent, are more hostile than women, 17 per cent, with professionals and managers (24 per cent) and those aged 55 to 64 (28 per cent) most opposed.

The Populus poll ties in with the findings of a postBudget YouGov poll for The Daily Telegraph. A year ago, Mr Brown was regarded as an asset rather than a liability by a roughly two-to-one margin (50 per cent to 27 per cent). But now the ratings are equal at 39 per cent.

Mr Brown can console himself that just 25 per cent think he “behaves improperly with Stalinist ruthlessness”, while 39 per cent say that he “behaves properly in being tough and having a clear vision”.

— Populus interviewed a random sample of 1,025 adults aged over 18 by telephone between March 21 and 22. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to be representative of all adults. For more details, go to www.populuslimited.com.

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