New research reveals that while Ed Balls still trails George Osborne in the public trust, former Chancellor Alistair Darling surpasses him
Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer for Gordon Brown’s Labour government, recently joined Tony Blair in cautioning Labour not to pledge outspending the Tories in 2015. It has led to a flurry of speculation that Ed Miliband might replace Ed Balls with the more gently spoken Scot before the end of the parliament.
Today's research provides the Labour leader with some evidence of how voters might react.
When asked to choose who would make the better chancellor between George Osborne and Ed Balls, Osborne comes narrowly ahead, 29% to 24%; however when asked to choose between Alistair Darling and George Osborne, Mr Darling is narrowly ahead, 29% to 25%.
However, perhaps the most striking thing is the high proportion of 'Don't knows' - clearly, neither is a choice that much inspires.
The findings come as Ed Miliband insists that “political parties have to move forwards not backwards”, and calls for a “new economic settlement” to unite Britain.
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