UK Public Wants Johnson Not Osborne, Say Polls

Boris Johnson is George Osborne's main competition to become Tory Leader

Opinion polls from two of UK’s leading research companies reveal that the general public would prefer Boris Johnson to become the next Prime Minister over his main rival George Osborne, although Tory voters still want Osborne.

According to joint research by The Huffington Post UK and Survation, the Mayor of London is the nation's favourite candidate to succeed Conservative leader David Cameron, winning 25% of votes. That means he is currently beating the PM’s heir apparent, Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, who trails behind with ten percentage points less.

The news will stun the party and David Cameron, who previously said he would not stand for election in 2020 and named Osborne as his personal choice of successor. Osborne currently holds the second most senior position in government behind the PM, while Boris Johnson has been seen as a controversial pain by the leader and his peers. Reports recently surfaced that the London Mayor had been paid by Cameron to not cause any hassle at the Conservative Conference before the general election.

The Chancellor is a close ally and friend of the Prime Minister

The polling company's head of political research, Gideon Skinner, summarised: “There is a striking divide in views of George Osborne, reflecting his position at the centre of political debate.
“Conservative supporters put him at the top of the list to be their next leader, but voters of other parties say he is much less likely to win their vote.”

Notably, among those skilled manual workers who are required to win the marginal seats in a a general election, Johnson still beats Osborne with 33% to 9%. This suggests that workers would preferred to live under a government headed by the often-campaigning London Mayor, Boris Johnson, than the man who decides how our economy is run.

And pollsters Ipsos MORI have also released data for the Evening Standard, suggesting that voters would most likely vote Tory in 2020 if Johnson was leader of the party. 27% would support a Johnson-run government party versus 17% for Home Secretary, Theresa May, and 15% for Osborne.

Is the Tory leadership still a three-person race?

However, Ipsos MORI revealed that Tory voters preferred Osborne, with the Chancellor winning 32% compared to Johnson’s 29%. This would result in Osborne winning the role, though, as voting for the leadership is calculated internally within the party’s official membership. It would remain to be seen whether non-party supporters would register as members in order to vote for Johnson.

And the race to the helm of the party also heats up today as Nick Morgan announced to the Daily Mail that she would consider running for the leadership. The Education Secretary explained: ‘I hope that, in the not too distant future, there will be another female leader of a main Westminster political party.” And she added that her decision on whether to become a candidate “will depend on family”.

Could Education Secretary Morgan become the next female Tory Prime Minister?