Brown has not won workforce vote, warns Adecco

Gordon Brown has yet to win over the UK workforce, despite being some seven months into his tenure, says new research from leading recruiter Adecco today.

With the Prime Minister having already weathered the storm surrounding the collapse of Northern Rock and a party donations scandal, a poll of more than 1,000 UK workers[1] reveals that the vast majority of employees are uncertain as to Brownís business credentials, and are split over his ability to have an impact on the UK labour market, either good or bad.

While some 30 per cent of respondents believe that Mr Brown will be more sensitive to UK commercial performance than former PM Tony Blair, a comparable 22 per cent disagreed, stating that the Prime Minister was not likely to echo Mr Blairís industrial success. The overall vote is perhaps most telling however, with 48 per cent of surveyed workers sitting on the fence over Mr Brownís abilities in the commercial arena.

Further questioning revealed the following:

Taxing Times: Brownís previous role as chancellor has done little to endear himself to the workforce. Only 16 per cent of workers said that the PM would play a positive role in reducing the burden of income tax on employees, with 42 per cent saying that he would make tax tougher for workers, and a further 42 per cent staying neutral

Healthy Competition: 55 per cent of workers were unable to tell if Mr Brown would be able to help improve competitiveness and performance of UK PLCs. 24 per cent said that he would, a comparable 21 per cent said that he would not

Thinking Big: 26 per cent said that the Prime Minister would help UK business innovate better during his time at Number 10. While 20 per cent disagreed, the majority vote ñ 54 per cent - again remained neutral

Skills to Pay the Bills: One area in which Mr Brown scored big, with some 29 per cent of workers saying that he would help UK business to improve skills and training programmes. Only 13 per cent disagreed, and 58 per cent were unable to say.

Commenting on the research results, Adecco Group UK & Ireland CEO Rene Schuster said: ìWhile of course Mr Brown has only been at the helm of government for a relatively limited amount of time, it is interesting to see that the majority of workers are unable to draw firm conclusions about his impact on the business environment. When we consider how close the country was to a general election only a few months ago, it is particularly revealing to see that ñ from an employment standpoint at least ñ the wider vote is still very much there for the taking.î

[1] Adecco FTSE research - November 2007. Survey of 1,006 UK employees (505 of which represented listed FTSE 350 business, 501 represented non-listed companies). Interviews conducted between August ñ September 2007.