Budget 2015: Gordon Brown beats George Osborne on job approval rating
Now the dust has settled; the pollsters are digesting the public's reaction to Osborne's Budget and how they rate the chancellor.
The good news for Osborne is that YouGov found for the first time since 2010 that more people approve if his job performance than disapprove. However, the chancellor of five years still failed to match the approval achieved by Gordon Brown after every single one of his Budgets.
At the height of his popularity as chancellor Gordon Brown achieved a net approval rating close to plus 50 after the 2002 Budget. Osborne's best net score was plus 20 in 2010 at the time of the coalition's emergency Budget.
Brown of course had the advantage of years of uninterrupted growth and stable world economy for much of his time in number 11.
The worst performer, in the public's view, over the past 13 years was Alistair Darling, who during the depths of the 2008 financial crisis had a net approval rating close to minus 40.
Osborne's decision to raise the personal allowance and make the first £1,000 of the personal tax allowance of interest on saving tax-free proved the most popular policies announced in the Budget.
The bank levy and cut in fuel duty also chimed with the electorate. However, the move cut duty on beer and whiskey was seen as the wrong priority by 57 per cent of voters. The chancellor shied away from any major pre-election give aways.
