More Britons prefer Theresa May as prime minister than Boris Johnson, new poll finds

Exclusive: The survey showed people believe Ms May is hardworking but with a poor sense of the public mood

Theresa May and Boris Johnson when he was still in cabinet (Getty)

More people think Theresa May would make a better prime minister than Boris Johnson, according to an exclusive new poll.

The survey for The Independent by BMG Research shows the public see Ms May as more hardworking than her rival, who at the weekend renewed his backbench critique of her Brexit strategy by claiming it had put Britain in a “suicide vest”.

Asked directly about how good a PM they think Mr Johnson would make, almost half of those questioned said either “bad” or “very bad”, according to the poll.

It follows a weekend of bitter recriminations after Mr Johnson’s personal life was splashed across the weekend papers, amid claims of a smear campaign ahead of a potential leadership challenge.

Downing Street has denied any involvement, but the clash between Ms May and Mr Johnson is setting the scene for the broader Brexit row, with Eurosceptic MPs supportive of Mr Johnson threatening to vote down Ms May’s Chequers Brexit proposals.

Pollsters asked a weighted sample of more than 1,500 people who would make a better PM, “Boris Johnson or Theresa May” – with just 24 per cent of people backing the ex-foreign secretary.

But some 32 per cent believed Ms May the better person to be prime minister, with 31 per cent saying neither, and 13 per cent saying they did not know.

Asked directly how good a PM Mr Johnson would make, just 25 per cent were positive to some degree – 8 per cent “very good”, 17 per cent simply “good”.

But 48 per cent signalled they thought he would make a bad leader for the country, with 31 per cent – almost a third – opting for “very bad”, underlining the strong opinions the Uxbridge and South Ruislip MP provokes.

The survey then tested a series of public figures, including the Tory pair and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, against a series of leadership qualities.

Asked about work ethic in the poll, Ms May was the only one of the three politicians of whom a majority – 55 per cent – believed to be “hardworking”, while 34 per cent said she is not.

Mr Corbyn’s figures were more equivocal with 42 per cent saying he is hardworking, and 44 per cent not, but Mr Johnson’s figures in the survey indicated a clearer view.

Only 36 per cent of people thought the ex-cabinet minister to be a hard worker, while half of people – exactly 50 per cent – said he was not.

But in a blow for Ms May’s hopes of selling her under-fire Brexit plans to the country, 61 per cent of people said in the poll that she has a poor sense of the British public’s mood, while only 26 per cent said her sense of it is good.

Mr Corbyn faired somewhat better in this factor, with 55 per cent saying his sense of the public mood is bad to some degree, and 30 per cent saying it is good.

But Mr Johnson faired significantly better than the PM, with 52 per cent saying his sense of the public mood is bad – nine points lower than Ms May’s score – and 33 per cent, a third of all respondents, saying it is good.

There were two facets on which all three politicians were broadly similar, but with Mr Corbyn narrowly beating the two Tory politicians.

On whether they understand the country’s problems, 35 per cent of people rated Mr Corbyn as good, and 52 per cent, bad, compared with 30 per cent and 59 per cent for Ms May, and 32 per cent and 55 per cent for Mr Johnson respectively.

In terms of whether the politicians put their own career or the national interest first, 18 per cent said Mr Corbyn would put national interest first and 50 per cent his career.

That compared with 15 per cent and 51 per cent for Ms May, and just 11 per cent who thought Mr Johnson would put the country first compared with 59 per cent who thought his own prospects would be the priority.

The question about trust delivered a similarly bad verdict all round with only about a quarter saying they trusted any of the three – Ms May 25 per cent, Mr Johnson 26 per cent, and Mr Corbyn 24 per cent.

Meanwhile, 45 per cent said they did not trust Mr Johnson, 47 per cent distrusted Ms May and 51 per cent distrusted Mr Corbyn.

Source note: BMG Research interviewed a representative sample of 1,533 GB adults online between 4 and 7 September. Data are weighted. BMG is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules