Nigel Farage is backed by more Britons as having what it takes to be a good Prime Minister than any of the four contenders battling it out to succeed Rishi Sunak as Tory leader.
A quarter of adults in the country, 24 per cent, have this view of the Reform UK leader, according to the Ipsos survey.
This figure compares to 15 per cent for former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, 12 per cent for ex-security minister Tom Tugendhat, 11 per cent for former Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, and ten per cent for ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick.
But while Reform backers may be keen to trumpet this finding, the survey also showed 62 per cent of Britons disagree with the statement that Mr Farage has what it takes to be a good Prime Minister.
This is far higher than the 47 per cent who have this opinion for Mr Jenrick, 46 per cent for Mr Cleverly, 45 per cent Ms Badenoch, and 37 per cent for Mr Tugendhat.
The results appear to be further evidence that Mr Farage is a divisive figure, with people either having strong positive, or strong negative views on him.
They were published as the Tory contenders were laying out their platforms to be party leader at the Conservative annual rally in Birmingham, a far more low-key event than when the party was in government.
However, Ms Badenoch sparked controversy on Sunday with comments over maternity pay.
There were also some startling revelations by Lord Brady, who was chairman of the 1922 Committee of Backbench Tory MPs, over how Britain’s intelligence and security services raised the alarm over a feared foreign plot to interfere in the 2022 Conservative leadership election which saw Ms Truss become Prime Minister.
The poll also showed that more people have, or are willing, to express an opinion on Mr Farage.
Just three per said they did not know whether he has what it takes to be a good PM, compared to 16 per cent for Mr Tugendhat, 14 per cent for both Mr Jenrick and Ms Badenoch, and 11 per cent Mr Cleverly.
The findings will almost certainly be partly due to Mr Farage being such a high profile figure.
But the Reform leader has also shown leadership skills, whether people agree with his policies or not, including his party winning more than four million votes at the July general election, and during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign.
As for Boris Johnson, 21 per cent say he has what it takes to be a good Prime Minister, with 70 per cent disagreeing.
His backing as PM on this question peaked during the Covid pandemic, with more than 40 per cent of the country consistently expressing a positive opinion.
Keiran Pedley, Director of Politics at Ipsos, said: “These findings reflect other Ipsos research that shows none of the Conservative leadership candidates cut through in a positive way with the public but also that many have no particular opinion on them at all.
“There is an upside to this as whoever wins will have a chance to make their case to the public without being written off immediately.
“However, Nigel Farage looms large over the contest too. With Reform doing such damage to the Conservative Party in July – and Farage himself popular with 2019 Conservative voters – the new leader will face a challenge winning back some of the voters the party lost this summer.”
*Ipsos UK interviewed 1,009 adults in Britain between September 11 and 17. Data are weighted.
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