Britain's first coalition government since World War II is still enjoying a political honeymoon 100 days after coming into office, a poll suggested on Wednesday.
The survey for the Guardian showed 46 percent of voters deemed the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition was doing a good job in running the country, against 36 percent who thought it was doing a bad job.
It also indicated that the government was winning over the people in its controversial push to tackle the country's enormous deficit with immediate and deep public spending cuts.
Forty-four percent of those polled said the government was doing a good job in securing economic recovery against 37 percent who said it was doing a bad job.
The issue of when to start slashing Britain's enormous deficit -- which stands at a record £154.7 billion -- is hotly disputed.
Labour argues immediate cuts risk pushing the economy back into recession.
Since the coalition was formed in May, it has wasted no time in unveiling swift and swingeing spending cuts to tackle the deficit, as well as outlining radical policies to reform health, education, welfare and the police.
Prime Minister David Cameron's personal popularity also appeared to be holding up, according to the survey by pollster ICM.
It showed 57 percent of voters think he is doing a good job, while 52 percent believe he can be trusted to "make the right decisions when the going gets tough".
The government's economic policy has proved divisive here, with employers groups and unions trading verbal blows over the best approach.
The Confederation of British Industry, strongly backed the approach, saying it had been "impressed by the speed and direction of policy-making to date."
Brendan Barber of the TUC hit back: "Far from securing the economic recovery, they are slamming on the economic brakes. Growth will be well below potential and there is growing risk of a double-dip recession."
Many commentators argue that the coalition will hit turbulence in October when it outlines where huge cuts will fall in a comprehensive spending review.
ICM interviewed 1,001 adults by telephone on 13-15 August.
Copyright 2010 AFP European Edition
