Boris Johnson now Tory members' favourite to take over from Theresa May
2 min read
Boris Johnson is now the top choice among Conservative party members to replace Theresa May as Prime Minister, according to a new poll.
In a sign that his recent Brexit interventions have paid off with the Tory faithful, the Foreign Secretary has the backing of 23% of activists, ahead of Scottish party leader Ruth Davidson on 19% and Eurosceptic backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg on 17%.
The YouGov survey for The Times suggests a major turnaround in fortunes for Mr Johnson, who came fourth in a similar ConservativeHome poll at the start of September.
He is also well ahead of Brexit Secretary David Davis, who gets the support of only 11% of the party faithful, suggesting Mr Johnson would easily beat him if there were a contest between the pair.
Members are also positive about his performance, with 69% saying he is doing a good job.
The findings suggest rank-and-file Tories have responded well to Mr Johnson's hard line on Brexit, including his 4,000-word Daily Telegraph article setting out his vision just days before Mrs May's big speech in Florence.
Earlier this week he waded in again, urging the Prime Minister not to take the UK through a lengthy transition period.
MAY TO FIGHT ON?
It comes as Mrs May has confirmed that she does intend to fight the next general election as party leader.
Asked if she would still be leader come the next election, she told BBC South: "I've answered this question before and I've been very clear that I am not a quitter, that I'm in it for the long-term and that there's a job to be done and I will be fighting the next election."
Her comments are likely to cause some concern among Tory MPs still angry at her decision to call the snap election only to lose her Commons majority.
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