R
ishi Sunak remains the most popular potential Tory leader with the public, but most other candidates lack “name recognition”, a survey has found.
Some 37% of the public told polling agency Ipsos the former chancellor would do a good job as prime minister, making him the only leadership candidate with a higher approval rating than Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer on 33%.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt – who was kicked out of the race after Tory MPs’ first vote on Wednesday – came second on 24%, although Mr Hunt had the most people. who said he would do a bad job, in every third.
Incumbent Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi – who also dropped out of the race on the first ballot – and Trade Secretary Penny Mordaunt were almost tied with 22% and 21% respectively, followed by Tom Tugendhat on 19%, Suella Braverman on 16% and Kemi Badenoch on 15% .
An Ipsos poll of Conservative voters from 2019 also found a significant lead for Mr Sunak, with 55% backing him as a good prime minister, followed by Ms Truss on 39% and Ms Mordaunt on 33%.
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But the poll of 1,000 British adults, conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday, found Sunak to be the most popular of the candidates. About 60% said they knew a lot or quite a bit about him, and 56% correctly identified him as the former chancellor.
Mr Hunt is the second most popular at 40%, followed by Ms Truss at 33% and Mr Zahawi at 28%.
Ms Mordaunt was known by 20% of people and Mr Tugendhat by 15%, while Ms Badenoch and Ms Braverman were only 14%.
However, 12% of people told Ipsos they knew a lot or quite a lot about Stuart Lewis, a fake candidate created by the pollster.
About 6% even said they knew “a lot” about the defunct Mr. Lewis, more than 5% who said the same about Ms. Braverman, the attorney general, and the same proportion as Ms. Badenoch and Mr. Tugendhat.
Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos, said Mr Sunak’s support “at least partly reflects his greater recognition”.
He added: “The large number of people who are unfamiliar with the candidates means there is still scope for public attitudes to change, which adds some unpredictability as Conservative MPs and then members think about who they would vote for.”
Almost two-thirds of people say they are following the leadership race closely, while 82% say the same about weather stories and 87% about cost-of-living stories.
Mr Skinner added: “While most people say they are following the contest, this research also reminds us that the issue that is really grabbing public attention at the moment is the cost of living crisis – tackling this will be crucial for whoever becomes our next prime minister’.
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