Britain expects absolutely nothing from Davos
Britain expects absolutely nothing from Davos
Friday 30th January 2009
The vast majority of people believe the World Economic Forum will achieve nothing, a new poll has shown.Ninety per cent of politics.co.uk users say there will be no breakthroughs at Davos as Gordon Brown flies out to the Swiss resort.
The prime minister will be joining his business team, including Lord Mandelson, at the summit. Conservative leader David Cameron is also attending.
But a politics.co.uk poll conducted throughout the week found expectations to be incredibly low, with only ten per cent of users saying something will come out of the meeting.
The poll results will make depressing reading for the government, with nearly 60 per cent of respondents saying David Cameron and George Osborne, shadow chancellor, would make the best delegation.
The Gordon Brown-Alistair Darling team had roughly the same level of support as the Liberal Democrats team of Nick Clegg and Vince Cable around the 20 per cent mark.
Mr Brown's claims to have led the world in his response to the financial crisis appear to be falling on deaf ears, with over 80 per cent of users saying they did not believe Britain was leading the global response to the crisis.
Asked whose fault the financial crisis was, half of all respondents blamed bankers, with just over 40 per cent of respondents saying politicians were responsible.
Responses to the action government should take to alleviate the crisis were more mixed, with investment in green industries, a reduction in spending and a further recapitalisation of banks all hovering around the 20 per cent mark.
There was more support for the idea of cutting taxes, with nearly 40 per cent of respondents agreeing with the idea.
The survey reflects recent polls showing an end to the Brown bounce, which propped up Labour support since the crisis hit last September.
It also suggests Mr Cameron's economic policy may be finally making some headway, after months of being rated lower on financial concerns than the government.
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