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Poll: Cameron leads Brown on competence
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David Cameron is now more likely than Gordon Brown to be regarded as both competent and decisive, and he is far more likely to be considered an asset for his party, a poll suggests.
At the same time, trust in Labour's ability to handle the economy has fallen over the last 12 months to a new low.
These are some of the key findings of a poll conducted for the BBC by ICM Research on the eve of today's local elections.
Included in the poll were a number of questions that have been asked every year by the BBC since 2002.
The results were presented on tonight's edition of Newsnight on BBC Two and the BBC's overnight coverage of the local election results.
Whereas 58% of respondents polled think that David Cameron is competent, 46% say the same about Gordon Brown.
In contrast last year, 49% described the Opposition leader as competent, while 57% felt that way about Mr Brown.
According to the poll, 52% say that Mr Cameron is decisive, whereas 38% believe the same of Mr Brown.
Meanwhile, 68% state that Mr Cameron is an asset for the Conservatives; 24% consider him a liability. 42% say that Mr Brown is an asset for Labour, while 52% believe he is a liability.
Of those polled, 32% now say that Labour can be trusted to run Britain's economy, down from 48% last year, and well below the reading for any previous year since 2002.
However, the survey suggests Conservatives still have to convince many people that they could do any better.
The survey found that 36% trust the party to look after the economy, down 10 points on last year.
It seems Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, has yet to make an impression on many people.
29% are unable to say whether he is an asset or a liability for his party. However, amongst those who are able to answer, 43% believe he is an asset, and 27% a liability.
Notes to Editors
ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,005 adults aged 18+ by telephone between 25 and 27 April 2008.
Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults.
ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Further information at www.icmresearch.co.uk.
Previous readings for 2002-6 were obtained by ICM immediately prior to that year's round of local elections. Those for 2007 were obtained by ComRes.
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