Is Brown Less Popular Than Hitler?

Gordon Brown's approval ratings have dropped faster and further than Neville Chamberlain's when Hitler invaded Norway in 1940.

Chamberlain's ratings dropped 48 points (+21 to -27) in six months in early 1940, while Brown has fallen a huge 85 points (+48 to -37) in the same period of time this year. The joke being that he is now even less popular than Hitler was at the time of Chamberlain's nose dive.

Now I suspect that had the British public been asked about Hitler's popularity in 1940 then he would have polled much lower than -37, however what is clear is the reason behind this sharp drop for Brown.

If there was one thing that Brown was credited for in the ten years he was Chancellor, then it was the stability of the economy. But after the Northern Rock crisis and the current global credit crunch, Brown has been found to have failed to save for the rainy days.

It's the equivalent of being promoted to a higher paid position ten years ago, going out every weekend and spending the extra cash and even taking an expensive holiday and paying for it on your credit card. You then find that you've been made redundant on the same day that your credit card bill arrives and just to cap it off, your house is found to have a major structural defect that means it will fall down within six months, unless thousands of pounds are spent on putting it right.

There's no money left in the taxpayer's wallet, and government borrowing is at 39% of GDP (just short of the 40% limit Gordon set for himself in 1997). So taxes are having to rise just at the time when the people haven't got the money to pay for it.

Come back Tony, all is forgiven!

JR