politics.co.uk poll reveals huge suspicion of Treasury forecasts

Tuesday, 28 April 2009 12:10 PM

By politics.co.uk staff

A politics.co.uk poll conducted throughout the Budget period has found staggering levels of suspicion about Treasury predictions for the economy.

Asked if Treasury forecasts can be trusted a massive 92 per cent of respondents said no.

The chancellor's department has been under substantial pressure over its estimates of economic recovery.

His prediction that the UK would return to growth during the tail-end of 2009 was openly mocked by opposition politicians.

And the Budget was further weakened by the fact an IMF assessment of the global economy flatly contradicted his own assessments of the UK's position.

The tide of increased Tory support on the economy showed no signs of slowing down.

Asked if the Tories would do better than Labour at dealing with the recession, 64 per cent of respondents said they would.

And when politics.co.uk users stated their favourite performer on the economy, George Osborne - the shadow chancellor - came out clear favourite.

He earned 55 per cent support, while Vince Cable, Lib Dem treasury spokesman, won 37 per cent. Alistair Darling trailed on nine per cent.

The level of support for Mr Osborne is surprising. Polls regularly show him earning less support than his party in general, while his Lib Dem counterpart usually appears more popular than his party.

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• budget
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• economic policy
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• economy
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• economy and finance