Chancellor warned as poll shows fall in confidence in economy

THE public's confidence in the economy is at a two-year low, according to a new Mori poll ahead of next week's Budget.

According to the survey of 1,000 people, 51 per cent believe the economy will get worse, compared with 23 per cent who believe it will get better.

The poll also showed there were huge concerns over the speed of the government's cuts, with 70 per cent wanting them to be done slower and 55 per cent believing the coalition government is wrong to cut so hard.

Chancellor George Osborne's personal rating has also dropped since the pre-Budget poll in June last year, when 40 per cent polled thought he was doing a good job, compared with 36 per cent now.

There is bad news for Labour, whose leader, Ed Miliband, is as unpopular as Lib Dem leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. Both were disliked by 51 per cent.

Only Tory Prime Minister David Cameron had a positive rating. He received 47 per cent likes and 46 per cent dislikes.