Public backs Theresa May over Boris Johnson to win next election - poll
2 min read
Theresa May has a better chance of winning the next election as Conservative leader than Boris Johnson or Jacob Rees-Mogg, a new poll has found.
A Guardian/ICM study found that among the raft of names tipped to take over from the Prime Minister, only an unspecified younger backbencher could fare better in the eyes of the public.
The poll asked if the chances of a Tory victory at a general election was better or worse with each candidate compared with Mrs May.
A quarter thought the party would do better under “someone quite young and able who is not currently in government” as leader, with 20% disagreeing - a net score of +5%.
Meanwhile, 27% thought the Tories' fortunes would improve under Mr Johnson, with 45% disagreeing - handing him a net score of -18.
The findings come despite the former foreign secretary enjoying a significant boost in support from Tory members as the favourite to succeed Mrs May - after he walked out of Cabinet in protest at the PM's Chequers plan for Brexit.
Mr Johnson's Brexiteer colleagues fared even worse than he did in the poll, with vocal backbencher Mr Rees-Mogg on a net score of -19, while Michael Gove was left with a lowly -38.
Meanwhile, his successor as Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, was at -34, while Sajid Javid stood at -18.
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, who despite being a member of the Holyrood parliament is often tipped to take the reins down south, also fares worse than the PM, on -7.
While she remains the most popular of the named alternatives posed, just 15% said the party would do better under the Edinburgh Central MSP, while 22% said the opposite.
In better news for Mr Johnson, some 41% of Conservative-supporting respondents believe he would help the party, against 33% who disagree, giving him a net score among his own tribe of +8.
Mr Rees-Mogg is seen by party members as the person next best placed to help the Tories, but his net score is -8.
Elsewhere, the poll shows the Tories on 40% on public voting intention (up one point from two weeks ago), with Labour standing still on the same figure.
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