Brown boost for grey vote.

Byline: ROSA PRINCE

PENSIONERS have been successfully wooed by Labour's pre-election handouts and back Tony Blair as Prime Minister, an opinion poll reveals today.

And Gordon Brown's budget last week with its extra package of measures boosting OAPs will further strengthen Labour's grey vote.

The poll reveals nearly 60 per cent of over-65s think the Government is doing a very or fairly good job for them.

It also shows why winning the grey vote is so important to all the political parties.

Nearly nine out of 10 over-65s plan to vote compared with 80 per cent of those aged 50 to 64 and just six out of 10 aged 18 to 24. And OAPs are more likely than other voters to think Mr Blair is a better PM than Tory Michael Howard or Charles Kennedy would be.

Lib Dem leader Kennedy is popular among the elderly but only one in five 50-64 "baby boomers" and 21 per cent of pensioners think he would make a good leader of the country.

Pensioners are more likely than voters in other age groups to believe Britain should be prominent in international affairs.

Despite planning to turn out at the polls in large numbers, the over-50s are cynical about politics. Among 50 to 64-year-olds, 28 per cent said it made no difference who won the election - as did 27 per cent of OAPs.

The ICM poll was carried out for Saga, the magazine for elderly people. Editor Emma Soames said: "This just shows how important the over-50 vote will be in the coming election, something which appears to have been recognised in the Chancellor's recent budget."

Meanwhile Pensions Minister Alan Johnson denied reports that the Chancellor and election chief Alan Milburn have clashed on campaign strategy. He said on the Breakfast with Frost TV show: "They were wrong when it was said Milburn was ousting Brown and they are wrong now if they are saying Brown is ousting Milburn. They are working as a team."

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SUPPORT:Brown delivers Budget