Voters say ‘bring in Boris if Cameron was to go’

The London Mayor was the preferred candidate of 24 per cent of those questioned by YouGov for The Sunday Times, followed by Foreign Secretary William Hague on 14 per cent, ex-leadership candidate David Davis on 6 per cent, Chancellor George Osborne on 3 per cent and Education Secretary Michael Gove on 2 per cent.

Mr Johnson was an even more popular choice as next leader among Conservative voters, with 33 per cent naming him as the best replacement for Mr Cameron, against 24 per cent for Mr Hague and 7 per cent for Mr Davis. And several major Tory donors told the paper that they regarded Mr Johnson as a potential future leader.

The poll reflected the so-called “Boris bounce” which the mayor has enjoyed during the London Olympics, garnering favourable headlines even when left dangling from a zip wire in a stunt which went wrong. The proportion of people saying he would make a better leader than Mr Cameron has risen from 23 per cent in July to 30 per cent now.

It confirmed that the Conservatives are still trailing Labour in public opinion, with Ed Miliband’s party backed by 44 per cent – 12 points clear of the Tories under Mr Cameron on 32 per cent. Liberal Democrats were on 10 per cent.

Some 58 per cent said Mr Cameron was doing badly as Prime Minister, against 37 per cent who said he was doing a good job. While 39 per cent said he should stay in the job, 37 per cent – including 14 per cent of Conservative supporters – said that he should stand down and let someone else lead the party.

And just 25 per cent approved of the Government’s record so far, compared to 62 per cent who did not. Some 64 per cent said that the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats were working together badly in coalition, while just 30 per cent said they were working well.

However, the survey also raised doubts over whether Mr Johnson could revive the Tories’ electoral fortunes, with 19 per cent saying he would make them more likely to vote Conservative but 17 per cent less likely, and 55 per cent of voters saying it would make no difference at all.

With figures released last week showing the party’s income was cut by nearly half last year, dropping by almost £20m to its lowest level since 2003, the views of wealthy donors who have supported the Tories in the past will carry some weight in determining the prospects of potential future leaders.

Financier Peter Hall, who has given more than £450,000 to the Conservatives, told The Sunday Times that Mr Johnson could be the right leader for Britain if the country sinks into a very deep recession.

“Boris’s great strength is his confidence and his optimism and his ability to, in an almost Churchillian way, inspire people to hope for a better future,” said Mr Hall.

Entrepreneur Hugh Osmond, who gave the Tories almost £100,000 in 2008 and 2009 but has not made a donation since the general election, said: “I’ve always thought that Boris espoused principles and ideals more in line with the things that I believe in than David Cameron.”

And Conservative treasurer 
Lord Fink said: “I don’t think there is a job vacancy, but if there was 
and if Boris wanted to run, he 
would be an extremely strong candidate.

“That is not to say there are not some other extremely good candidates.”

Mr Hague told Sky News: “Boris is doing a great job as Mayor of London and people love him the more they see him.

“But I hope and believe that we are not looking for a long time for any new leader of the Conservative Party.

“We have got the best leader and the best Prime Minister we have had in a long time, and I think it will be some time before we Conservatives are looking for a new leader.”

YouGov questioned 1,787 people on Friday and Saturday for The Sunday Times.