GORDON BROWN successfully fought off a party coup, but half the country’s voters think his survival as premier is harming Britain, according to a YouGov poll for The Sunday Times.

More than half, 51%, agree with the statement that “Gordon Brown’s continued presence as prime minister is damaging the country”, against 27% who disagree.

The poll of more than 1,900 people on Thursday and Friday also suggests the hostility towards the main parties shown in the European parliament elections this month has persisted.

The Tories, with 40% of the vote, have maintained a 16-point lead over Labour, which is down at 24%. However, both parties have lost support over the past month; in May their ratings were 43% and 27% respectively.

The beneficiaries are not the Liberal Democrats, unchanged on 18%, but the smaller parties, up from 12% to 18%. Within this, the UK Independence party had 8% of the vote, the Greens 4%, and the British National party 3%, with most of the rest going to the Scottish Nationalists and Plaid Cymru.

Though some of this reflects a hangover from the Euro elections, it also points to a significant backlash against the main parties and demonstrates what smaller parties can do when they get enough publicity.

A majority, 60%, say Brown should step down now or before the next general election. Only 30% think he should lead Labour into the election.

There is also strong support for an early election. Before the expenses scandal, YouGov polls found little appetite for an early ballot. Now 49% think there should be an immediate election and 24% say it should be in the autumn. Only 20% think the government should hang on until next year.

Brown’s messy reshuffle has not helped his plight; 49% to 35% think his decision to appoint Sir Alan Sugar as an “enterprise champion” within government was a silly gimmick.

However, the poll is not all good news for David Cameron. His overall popularity rating of plus 25%, versus minus 50% for Brown, is strong. But voters have doubts about what a Tory government would do in office.

Asked whether the Conservatives had the right team to tackle Britain’s problems effectively, 33% said they did while 50% said they did not.

Only 36% thought Cameron had the right policies to deal with the country’s difficulties, while 50% said he had not. This suggests that even some Tory supporters have doubts.

Though voters are angry and disenchanted with politicians, they have not yet forgiven bankers for creating the financial crisis that led to the recession. Last week it was announced that Andy Hornby, former chief executive of the failed HBOS, was to be appointed to run Alliance Boots, the chemists.

Asked whether failed bankers should be allowed to run other companies, 51% said they should be barred, against 34% who said they had as much right as anybody else to continue with their professional life.

There is some evidence in the poll that people are becoming a little more optimistic about the economy. While only 3% of people think the economy is doing well, compared with 83% who say it is in a bad way, the net figure, 80%, is down from 86% last month and 91% in February.

The proportion of people fearing that they or a member of their close family will lose their job has dropped from 47% to 43% in the past month, while the proportion who do not fear this has risen from 28% to 32%.

Even so, 33% of people named Cameron and George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, as the politicians they trusted most to raise their and their family’s standard of fingers in the earth and nothing tastes better than a strawberry or tomato you have just picked.”

Sir Roy Strong, the historian who wrote a book on the royal gardens, said: “The Queen is in line with the times and should be greatly applauded, but the idea of Princess Margaret keeping an allotment would have been laughable.” living, against 22% for Brown and Alistair Darling.

Finally, 76%, said the BBC should disclose top presenters’ salaries, compared with only 17% who thought it was right they be kept secret.

Last weekend Labour suffered its worst postwar election result after it was beaten into third place by UKIP.

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