BORIS IS HOT FAVOURITE AS THE NEXT PM
Brexit walkout sparks surge
BORIS Johnson is the Tory Party faithful’s favourite to succeed Theresa May as Prime Minister.
The former Foreign Secretary has seen a surge of support from Conservatives since quitting the Cabinet.
Mr Johnson resigned last month amid a furious row over the Government’s Brexit plans.
Now polling from Tory website ConservativeHome has him rising in popularity and backed by around a third of party members.
That puts him nearly 10 points ahead of his nearest rival, the Home Secretary Sajid Javid.
This is a huge turnaround for Mr Johnson, who was backed by just 8% while he was in the Cabinet.
The biggest loser in the poll is his fellow Brexiteer Michael Gove, who has seen his support collapse from 17% to just 7%.
Popular backbencher Jacob ReesMogg remains in the mix on 13%, while David Davis is on just 4.7%.
There were concerns over the Eton-educated MP’s record as Foreign Secretary, but friends believe his colleagues will back him regardless in a leadership election.
One Tory said: “MPs are not interested in ideology, they want a leader who gives them the best chance of retaining their seat and that’s Boris.
“People who have never met him call him by his first name. That is political gold dust.”
The site also revealed 45% of Tory party members want PM Theresa May to quit immediately.