Nearly half of Brits want Theresa May to quit before next election

Theresa May - Image credit: PA Images

Nearly half of British voters want Theresa May to quit before the next general election, according to a new opinion poll.

Just 29 per cent of the electorate want the Prime Minister to stay in power for the whole Parliament, compared with 48 per cent who are calling on her to stand down early, the poll by BMG Research for The Independent found.

In better news for May, however, the poll revealed that the Conservatives have regained their headline lead over Labour, with the parties on 42 per cent and 39 per cent respectively.

The paper also reports that 56 per cent of the public refused to back any of her rivals to succeed her.

When asked who would “make the best prime minister”, Boris Johnson was the most popular on 16 per cent, while David Davis and Philip Hammond achieved just five per cent.

Meanwhile, 58 per cent said they were unhappy with the Prime Minister’s leadership, while 42 per cent are satisfied, leaving May with a personal rating of -16, a rapid decline from her +12 position before she called the June election.

The research also showed Jeremy Corbyn was more popular with the public than the Prime Minister, with the Labour leader enjoying a +2 approval rating.

The public remain largely split on the Labour leader with 51 per cent happy with his performance, while 49 per cent are unhappy.