Tory members favour socially conservative and committed Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg MP as a replacement for Theresa May, as her position as leader looks increasingly weak.
A YouGov poll for The Times, released Friday, shows Mr. Rees-Mogg is leading the way among Tory members with 18 per cent of the vote.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson follows on 12 per cent and Brexit secretary David Davis comes in third on 7 per cent. Home Secretary Amber Rudd came a close fourth with 6 per cent support.
According to the poll, voters tend to view Mrs. May as weak and indecisive and a significant number want a new leader.
Some 32 per cent think she should stand down now and 42 per cent said she should remain. Yet, the current Tory leader and prime minister is still favoured over her Labour rival.
Mrs. May was the preferred choice for 34 per cent of voters, up one point since a month ago, with 31 per cent choosing Jeremy Corbyn for prime minister, down 2 points. More than a third – 35 per cent – said they were not sure.
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The Labour Party, however, slightly extended their lead over the Tories with voters, hitting 43 per cent, up 1 point on three weeks ago.
The Tories were unchanged at 40 per cent and the Lib Dems fell 2 per cent to just 6 per cent support.
The poll of 2,012 people was conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, shortly before the sacking of Priti Patel as International Development Secretary.
It is not all bad news for the Conservatives, as the poll suggests that support for the Tories is not collapsing amid the on-going cabinet reshuffles and a week widely seen as bad for Mrs. May’s party.
However, the preferences of Tory members suggest they favour a shift to the political right and a committed Brexiteer to replace Mrs. May – who campaigned for the UK to stay inside the European Union.
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