JEREMY Hunt is favourite among the public to become the next PM – but Tory voters prefer Boris Johnson, a new poll found today.
The Foreign Secretary leads his rival by 41 per cent to 29 among all voters, according to YouGov.
Allies today claimed he has the “momentum” to overtake the runaway favourite Boris in coming weeks.
But Boris is still ahead among Conservative supporters – and among voters who back Brexit.
The ongoing leadership election will be decided by 160,000 Tory activists who will send in postal votes next month.
Mr Hunt, the outsider candidate to be the next Tory leader, has a 12-point lead over Boris in the survey.
Overall 28 per cent think he’d make a good PM with 43 per cent saying he would do a bad job.
25 per cent of voters say Mr Johnson would do well in No10 while 58 per cent disagree.
But Mr Hunt’s lead is due largely to support from Labour and Lib Dem voters, as well as Brits who supported Remain in the 2016 referendum.
48 per cent of Tory supporters want to see Boris in No10 with just 39 per cent preferring Mr Hunt.
BoJo is also heavily backed by Brexit Party voters and those who backed Leave.
A Hunt campaign source said: “Jeremy remains the underdog but this shows we’ve got the momentum. He’s clearly the candidate best trusted to beat Corbyn.”
YouGov boss Anthony Wells added: “If the Conservatives are looking towards Boris Johnson as a magic election winner, the evidence is simply no longer there.”
Today the two candidates again addressed party activists at a hustings event in Exeter.
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