Gordon Brown will get "little credit" if Britain's economy is clearly recovering in the run-up to the general election, an exclusive new poll for The Times reveals.

But the cloud of gloom that has engulfed the Prime Minister may be lifted slightly by the response to calls from within Labour for him to resign. Almost three fifths of the party believe he should continue as leader through to polling day - and after all the recent criticism he has faced, it is a level of support for which Mr Brown may be relieved.

The Populus poll, undertaken over the weekend, shows that half the public (51 per cent) and nearly two fifths of Labour voters (38 per cent) believe Labour would be better off if Mr Brown was to "quit with dignity", as Charles Clarke, the former Home Secretary, said last week. However, just over two-fifths of voters (43 per cent) and three-fifths of Labour supporters (59 per cent) want Mr Brown to continue as leader through to the general election.

More worrying for Labour is that, even if the economy is coming out of recession and clearly recovering by early next year, Mr Brown is unlikely to gain much credit outside the ranks of his own party's supporters. Nearly half the public ( 47 per cent) say Mr Brown will deserve "only a little credit" for the recovery, while just over a quarter (27 per cent) say he will deserve "no credit at all".

Overall, a quarter of voters (24 per cent) say Mr Brown will deserve a "great deal of credit" for his handling of the economic situation in these circumstances. That includes 44 per cent of Labour voters but only 10 per cent of Tories.

The poll indicates that three-quarters of voters (73 per cent) say economic recovery would make no real difference to their decision about how to vote. Just a fifth (20 per cent) say evidence of such would make them more likely to vote Labour. This includes 36 per cent of Labour supporters, whose determination to vote for the party would be strengthened. A mere six per cent say recovery would make them less likely to vote for the party at the general election.

Labour strategists are torn. They obviously want to be able to highlight evidence that the recession is over and that the economy is recovering by the time of the election. But they do not want voters to think that all economic problems are over and it is safe to abandon Labour and vote for another party. The Labour approach is to focus both on Mr Brown's record in handling the banking crisis and the recession, and on its plans for the painful recovery period.

The poll suggests that men are more sympathetic to Mr Brown than women: for instance, 26 per cent of men say he deserves a "great deal of credit" for signs of economic recovery, compared with 22 per cent of women.

Populus interviewed a random sample of 1003 adults aged over 18 between September 25 and 27. Interviews were conducted by telephone across the country and have been weighted to be representative of the whole population. For more details go to www.populus.co.uk

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