Brown: kickstart the economy | Cameron: cut taxes | Analysis: voters prefer Brown in a crisis |

The Gordon Brown “bounce” is strikingly confirmed today as a poll for The Times shows him comfortably beating David Cameron as the leader seen as best able to handle the recession.

Days after Labour’s surprise win in the Glenrothes by-election, the Populus poll cuts the Conservative lead to six points, its lowest for months.

Labour is on 35 per cent, up five points since early October. The Conservatives are down four points at 41 per cent, the smallest Tory lead since the March Budget. The Liberal Democrats are up one point at 16 per cent.

More than half the public thinks that Mr Brown is the right leader to deal with the economy in recession, against a third for Mr Cameron. Mr Brown’s personal rating is also at its highest since July 2007, when he became Prime Minister. However, Mr Cameron is seen as better able to lead Britain forward after the next election.

The poll was taken after last Thursday’s record cut in interest rates. Mr Brown and Alistair Darling are planning a multibillion-pound mixture of tax cuts and spending rises to stimulate the economy. The Pre-Budget Report may come as early as next week.

The Treasury is understood to be looking at helping families through targeted tax cuts. Mr Darling must set out a convincing path for getting borrowing back on course. Last night at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet Mr Brown called on leading nations to fight the recession by stimulating their economies through borrowing if necessary.

Mr Cameron will promise this morning that the Tories would offer tax breaks to help employers and workers through the downturn. The package will be presented as being funded within existing spending limits to avoid compromising the party’s claim that borrowing to cut taxes is irresponsible.

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