Meanwhile, Conservative leader David Cameron has overtaken Mr Brown as the leader with the best policies for Britain, with particularly strong support among the young.

The 12-point lead over the Tories which Labour enjoyed on managing the economy just two months ago has been erased, with the two parties now neck-and-neck on 38%, said the survey for the News of the World.

The poll suggested that a majority of those questioned now regard Mr Brown as being bad at handling a crisis and believe the Government has dealt badly with the credit crunch at Northern Rock.

And in the wake of the loss of 25 million people's personal details by HM Revenue and Customs, a slim majority (49% to 47%) said that Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling should quit.

When Northern Rock's difficulties first became public over the summer, Mr Brown's poll ratings suggested he was seen as a "safe pair of hands" in a crisis. But the recent revelation that as much as £25 billion has now been lent to the ailing bank appears to have dented this image.

Some 46% of those questioned by pollsters MSL said the Government was bad at handling a crisis, against 42% who rated it good. More than half (54%) said ministers had handled Northern Rock badly.

The poll gave Mr Cameron an eight-point lead over Mr Brown as the best political leader, on 46% to the Prime Minister's 38%. And the Conservatives enjoyed a 10-point advantage over Labour as the party with the best policies and ideas for Britain, on 46% to the Government's 36%.

Among 25-34 year-olds, Mr Cameron was 17 points ahead as the best leader, while the Tories had a 17-point advantage on policy and were seen as best to handle the economy by a margin of 16 points.

The survey follows an ICM poll for the Guardian, which showed support for Labour slumping four points to 31%, while Conservatives fell three points to 37% and Liberal Democrats boosted their showing to 23%.