They have woken up.
A MAJORITY of voters believe that Gordon Brown has weakened the economy by putting up taxes too much, a new poll for The Times shows today as he prepares to defend his record and deliver an upbeat assessment of Britain's prospects.
The Populus survey gives an unexpected (sic) jolt to Mr Brown's reputation for prudence as he unveils the Pre-Budget Report.
The new poll, undertaken last weekend, shows that three fifths of voters (59 per cent) believe that Mr Brown has weakened "our economy by putting up taxes too much and planning increases in spending that are more than we can afford, though public services have not improved".
Just a third of the public (34 per cent) think Mr Brown has "taken prudent economic decisions that have strengthened our economy and enabled us to afford continuing increases in spending on public services".
Opinion is polarised along party lines. While nearly three fifths of Labour voters re- gard Mr Brown as "prudent", four fifths of Tories, and two thirds of Liberal Democrats, believe he has weakened the economy.
- Note the word "unexpected" as the liberal media yet again miss the feelings of the country.
