Katy Balls Katy Balls

Boris Johnson’s popularity problem

The Westminster rumour mill is in overdrive today on the question of whether Rishi Sunak will be Boris Johnson’s successor in No. 10. It’s not that there’s a job vacancy. Instead, the first ConservativeHome poll on who Tory members would like to be the party’s next leader has put Sunak out on top, with International Trade secretary Liz Truss in second and Cabinet Office minister Penny Mordaunt a close third. The poll isn’t exactly helpful timing for the Chancellor. Given the weekend papers were filled with stories of Sunak calling on Johnson to relax travel rules, anything that fuels talk of leadership manoeuvres is problematic for No. 11. 

However, the poll that ought to worry the Prime Minister most doesn’t relate to who will eventually replace him. Instead, it’s the website’s ‘Cabinet League Table’ in which Johnson has dropped 36 points to a net satisfaction rating

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