ITV News Index

ComRes interviewed British adults aged 18+ on behalf of ITV News.

Date Published: 24 Jun 2013

Categories: Economy | Politics | Public and communities | UK

Description

49% think country heading in the wrong direction but Cameron/Osborne most trusted on the economy

Ahead of the announcement of the Comprehensive Spending Review tomorrow, the latest index poll conducted by ComRes on behalf of ITV News shows that half (49%) of the British pubic think that the country is heading in the wrong direction. When asked whether ‘things in this country are heading in the right direction’ half (49%) disagreed, one-third (32%) agreed and one in five (20%) said that they didn’t know.

These findings reflect current pessimism regarding the state of the UK economy. Half (51%) of the British public think that the UK economy has got worse over the past three months. 18% think it has got better. 31% think there has been no change. There are however, some signs of limited confidence returning. Although 44% of the British public think the UK is heading for another recession this is the lowest level that think this since June 2011.

Despite public pessimism regarding the economy, Prime Minister David Cameron remains the most trusted leader on the economy. The Prime Minister’s net economic trust score is -16 compared to -34 for Ed Miliband and -51 for Nick Clegg. George Osborne also holds a slight lead over Ed Balls in terms of economic trust. The Chancellor’s economic trust score is -33 compared to -40 for Ed Balls. This is the first time since May 2012 that both David Cameron and George Osborne enjoy better net economic trust ratings than both Ed Miliband and Ed Balls.