More Brits think Rishi Sunak would do a better job as prime minister than Liz Truss, according to the latest polling.
An Ipsos survey found 38 per cent of the general public think the former Chancellor would make a good PM compared to just 31 per cent who say the same of Truss.
When asked who would be most likely to help the Conservative Party win the next General Election if they were elected leader 36 per cent of the British public said Sunak and 19 per cent said Truss.
However, 19 per cent said both were equally likely to win and more than one in four said don’t know (26 per cent).
Keiran Pedley, Director of Politics at Ipsos, said: “On face value these numbers lend some credence to the idea that Rishi Sunak might fare better in a General Election than Liz Truss in the sense that the public are more likely to think he would win an election.
“However, with almost half of the public and three in ten 2019 Conservative voters unable to pick between them this point should not be overplayed.
“In reality, we cannot know who would fare better in a General Election because the next Prime Minister’s record in office will almost certainly play a far bigger role at the next General Election than public perceptions now.”
Among Tory members, who will decide who becomes the next prime minister, the foreign secretary has managed to open up a commanding lead over the former chancellor.
A new YouGov poll of Tory members suggests 31 per cent of the membership intend to vote for Rishi Sunak, while 49 per cent intend to vote for Liz Truss.
A further 15 per cent currently don’t know how they will vote, and 6 per cent currently tell us they will abstain.
This puts the headline voting intention at 62 per cent for Truss and 38 per cent for Sunak (i.e. after people who are currently unsure or won’t vote are excluded) – a 24-point lead for the foreign secretary.
Related: The British government rejected a £33m proposal to double passport booths at Dover in 2020