Half of voters 'want Osborne out'

Nearly half of voters want George Osborne replaced as Chancellor in David Cameron's widely-expected imminent Cabinet reshuffle, according to fresh polling.

Mr Osborne has now become more unpopular than Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who has a performance rating of minus 26 to his Treasury colleague's minus 32, the Guardian/ICM study found.

Overall, 48% voters believe Mr Osborne should be ousted from No 11 but that rises to 52% among pensioners and 53% for the 35 to 64 age group.

Conservative supporters at the last election are divided over his performance with 44% believing he is doing a bad job, with 43% saying he is doing a good job.

Mr Osborne has faced repeated criticism for failing to kick-start the UK's floundering economy as well as presiding over a budget that sparked a series of U-turns.

ICM Research interviewed 1,006 adults by telephone between August 24 and 26.