One in three voters say May has what it takes to be PM – poll

Just one in three voters believe Theresa May has what it takes to be a good prime minister – although she is still rated more highly than Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson, according to a new opinion poll.

On the eve of the Tory Party conference, the Ipsos MORI Political Monitor found 33% thought Mrs May had the necessary qualities to lead the country, down from 55% when she entered Downing Street in 2016.

That still puts her ahead of Mr Corbyn, the Labour leader, on 27%, and Mr Johnson – seen as her most likely challenger from within the Tory ranks – on 25%.

Mrs May also retains her lead among Conservative Party supporters, with 61% saying she has what it takes to lead, as against 39% for Mr Johnson.

The former foreign secretary remains a controversial figure within the party, with 51% of Conservative supporters saying they did not believe he had the qualities to be prime minister, rising to 64% among all voters.

Of other potential Tory leaders, Ruth Davidson, the leader of the party in Scotland, came out top among the general public with 22%, followed by Home Secretary Sajid Javid on 17%, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt on 14% and Environment Secretary Michael Gove on 11%.

Among Conservative supporters, Ms Davidson scored 28%, Mr Javid 26%, Mr Hunt 22% and Mr Gove 21%.

Ipsos MORI interviewed 1,070 adults aged 18 and over across Great Britain by telephone between September 14 and 18.