As George Osborne stands up to deliver his Budget, he does so knowing that support for his policies falls 15 points when his name is attached to them. His approval rating, at -33, is at its lowest point. ITV have taken to polling on whether he should be sacked and find just 18% say he should keep his job.
Politicians that answer the questions posed by the electorate do well. Politicians that shape the questions the electorate want answered do even better.
In the months after the general election George Osborne won his reputation as a master at setting the question.
‘Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?’ That’s the question Ronald Regan asked voters as he closed the final Presidential debate in 1980 before winning forty-four of the fifty states. It’s a question George Osborne needs to be wary of as he plans this Wednesday’s budget.