A new poll has suggested that the public believe the chancellor is doing a better job than Tony Blair.

The YouGov survey for the Telegraph on Monday found that almost half of the electorate, 49 per cent, believe Gordon Brown is performing better in Number 11 Downing Street than the prime minister is in Number 10.

The findings put Brown - who for more than a decade has been seen as the heir apparent to Blair - ahead of his counterpart on a number of counts, with the gap widening on many since September last year.

The results come despite the latest bout of feuding between the two most senior men in the government, for which the chancellor has received the bulk of the blame in Westminster.

And they will intensify speculation that Blair will not serve his promised full third term in office if re-elected, given his pledge to stand down if he felt he had become a liability to the Labour Party.

Some 37 per cent of the electorate currently believe Blair is an asset to his party compared with 47 per cent who feel the opposite, according to the poll.

In contrast Brown is seen as of benefit to Labour by 63 per cent of the public and as a liability by only 17 per cent.

And more voters - 39 per cent, up seven points since September - would prefer to see the chancellor in Number 10 than the current prime minister, who was backed by 30 per cent.

However some 48 per cent believe the Labour leadership makes little difference to the party's prospect of winning the election, while 27 per cent feel it would do better under Brown and 19 per cent think it would be best for Blair to stay on.

But more worryingly for both men, 44 per cent said feuding between their rival camps makes it "much" or "somewhat" harder for the government to take the right decisions.

Just under a third, 32 per cent, felt it makes "little difference" and 17 per cent said it makes "no difference at all".