Sebastian Payne

Boris Johnson wouldn’t quite carry Conservatives back into government

If Boris Johnson was leader of the Conservative Party, would his presence reverse the party’s declining fortunes? This is the million dollar question on the mind of many Tories after the Mayor’s summer of success. YouGov have attempted to provide an answer by putting two scenarios to the public for the next general election — one with David Cameron leading the Conservatives and the other with Boris.

In a theoretical election with Boris as leader, more people stated they would vote Conservative, significantly reducing Labour’s lead, which is at seven points under a Cameron-led election. However, the increased voting share would not be enough to take the Tories back into government, as the chart below shows:

Breaking down the voting intentions shows that in a Boris-led scenario, he would bring in 92 per cent of Conservative voters, compared to 97 per cent under Cameron.

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