Many concerned about economy's direction

Less than a third of voters believe the economy is heading in the right direction - hardly a glowing endorsement when coalition governments pride themselves on being better economic managers.

The latest Essential Research poll found almost two-in-five respondents said the economy was heading in the wrong direction, while 30 per cent said they didn't know.

However, a third of the 1021 people polled described the present state of the economy as "good", around a quarter said it was "poor", while a further 38 per cent said it was neither good nor poor.