Vince: the accountants’ choice as Chancellor

Vince Cable has emerged as the accountants' choice for the next Chancellor following the pre-Budget report. In a poll of around 600 readers conducted by Accountancyage.com both before and after the pre-Budget report, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader and shadow chancellor proved popular with members of the profession, with 44% and 45% of voters wanting him as next chancellor rather than political rivals Alistair Darling and George Osborne.

Here are the results in full:

    Pre PBR

    George Osborne 45%
    Vince Cable 44%
    Alistair Darling 10%

    Post PBR

    Vince Cable 45%
    George Osborne 38%
    Alistair Darling 17%

As the magazine notes:

The biggest loser in the PBR with accountants has been George Osborne. Before the chancellor's statement, the Tory's opposite number topped the poll with 45% of the votes. But his response to the statement failed to impress, and his share of the vote dropped to 38%.