KEY POINTS:
The reputation of Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling among businessmen has suffered amid the British Government's problems and fears of an economic downturn.
A survey of 100 business leaders by ComRes shows that David Cameron, the Conservative leader, and his shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, are enhancing their standing.
The number of prominent businessmen who say they are confident in the ability of Brown has fallen from 31 per cent to 22 per cent in the past month, while the proportion who say they are not confident has risen from 67 per cent to 73 per cent.
The Chancellor's "confidence rating" has also dropped, down from 17 per cent to 13 per cent, while the number who are not confident in him has risen from 77 per cent to 83 per cent. The number of business leaders who have confidence in Cameron has increased from 49 per cent to 55 per cent. Osborne's confidence rating has risen from 44 per cent to 49 per cent.
Since becoming Chancellor in June, Darling has had to cope with the crisis at Northern Rock and the loss of personal data on 25 million people by HM Revenue & Customs. He was also accused of "stealing" Tory policies on inheritance tax cuts.
- Independent
