The British public believes the Prime Minister should be paid more than Premiership footballers and MDs of large companies, according to a new Fabian poll.

Salaries should be fairer, with public sector workers earning more and top executives earning less, indicates a YouGov poll conducted for the forthcoming Fabian publication The Equality Challenge, due out in September. The public thought the Prime Minister should earn more than footballers and managing directors but £52,000 less than his current salary of £187,000. The most dramatic cut would be for Premiership footballers, falling to just £62,000 a year, closer to their average monthly earnings. "This research shows how the British public feels the gap between the richest and poorest workers should be narrower,” remarked Editorial Director Tom Hampson.

The Fabian Report on equality in Britain found the public felt the following were reasonable salaries (for the detail of the poll, see this PDF document):

• Prime minister - £135,000
• MD of a top company - £120,000
• A best-selling author - £80,000
• A GP - £70,000
• A leading Premiership footballer - £62,000
• A state secondary school headteacher - £52,000
• An experienced hospital nurse - £33,000
• A local beat police officer - £29,500
• A good local plumber - £28,500
• A bus driver - £22,500
• A supermarket check-out worker - £15,000
• A fast-food restaurant worker - £14,000.

The Fabian / YouGov research showed that people felt that the lowest paid workers deserved to earn more, while the higher salaries of senior figures should be closer to the rest of society. "There is a sense," said author Rachael Jolley, "that society works more fairly in countries where the gap between the richest and poorest is closest".

"Our polling shows that the public thinks it is reasonable for Gordon Brown to be at the top of the earnings league above J K Rowling, managing directors of FTSE-100 companies and, especially, Premiership footballers, like Wayne Rooney," said Hampson.

"People believe in a fair wage for the work that they do. Progressive political politics should acknowledge that the public want the unfair gap between the rich and poor to be narrowed," said Jolley.

For more information on The Equality Challenge and associated research, see the Equality Project.