BoJo romping it ... but public prefers Hunt

BORIS Johnson is the overwhelming favourite to be chosen as the next Tory leader – despite the fact that people believe Jeremy Hunt would make the best PM.

Exclusive research given to The Mail on Sunday has found that, when Tory voters are asked who is best suited to running the country, Mr Johnson wins by 47 per cent to 29 per cent.

However, when all voters are asked who would be the best occupant of Downing Street, Mr Hunt beats Mr Johnson by a margin of 34 per cent to 27 per cent.

But only 8 per cent think the Tory Party will choose Mr Hunt, compared with 67 per cent who believe Mr Johnson will triumph.

The analysis, conducted by former Conservative Party deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft, highlights a growing gulf between Mr Johnson’s continuing popularity in the party and his declining fortunes among the electorate at large.

Mr Hunt also performs better in a head-to-head with Jeremy Corbyn. When voters are asked who will make the best PM, Mr Hunt leads Mr Corbyn by a margin of 47 per cent to 19 per cent. In contrast, Mr Johnson beats the Labour leader by 42 to 24 per cent.

Mr Hunt retains his advantage when all voters are asked whether they would prefer a Hunt-led Tory Government or a Corbyn-led Labour Government, by a margin of 60-40. With Mr Johnson at the helm, the lead is just 54 to 46.

The poll results come as voting cards begin arriving at the homes of the 160,000 party members who will determine the contest.

The findings will worry Tory MPs who are concerned that Mr Johnson’s expected victory will cause a ‘legitimacy’ problem for the party.

The next Prime Minister is being chosen by just 0.34 per cent of the 48million people who are registered to vote – a micro-electorate which is 97 per cent white and with an average age of 57.

For the Conservatives to win a majority at the next General Election, the party will have to win over younger voters who have been lost to Mr Corbyn: the average age at which people first vote Conservais now 51. Lord Ashcroft’s focus groups confirm the impression of a legitimacy problem, with people saying the party looks ‘disconnected’ and like ‘a bunch of public schoolboys who just want power bickering among each other’.

One way to solve the legitimacy issue would be for Mr Johnson to hold a General Election to give him a personal mandate.

But the trend of recent polls has shown that, even with Mr Johnson as leader, the party would struggle to command a convincing lead.

The focus groups also provide worrying findings for Mr Johnson, with the top five words chosen to describe him being ‘arrogant’, ‘dishonest’, ‘dangerous’, ‘unreliable’ and ‘amusing’.

‘A bunch of bickering public schoolboys’

8,223 adults were interviewed online between June 24 and 28, 2019. Full data tables are available at LordAshcroftPolls.com.