Penny Mordaunt is the most popular Cabinet minister according to a poll of Tory party members, making the Commons leader the likely candidate to succeed Rishi Sunak.
The MP for Portsmouth North has overtaken Kemi Badenoch, with her satisfaction score rising by almost eight points from 47.5 to 55.3.
Badenoch, the Business and Trade secretary, is down by eight points falling to a score of 50.
She is also one of the bookmakers’ favourites to succeed Sunak if the Conservatives lose the upcoming general election.
Penny Mordaunt is the most popular Cabinet minister according to a poll of Tory party members
PA
It is the first time that Mordaunt has topped the rankings since June 2019, in Conservative Home's latest Cabinet league table.
Her rise in ranking comes after she accused Sir Keir Starmer of being a “bully and a cheat” following the Sir Lindsay Hoyle Commons row.
The Speaker broke protocol last month to give Labour an amendment to an Opposition Day debate tabled by the SNP on a ceasefire in Gaza.
Sunak is in second from last place with a score of minus 23.1.
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Kemi Badenoch previously held the top spot
PAAnother 10 cabinet members had negative rankings, including Jeremy Hunt, who announced the Spring Budget yesterday, who scored minus 20.6.
In last place is Illegal Migration Minister Michael Tomlinson with a rating of minus 39.
Last week, an interview between Nick Ferrari and Tomlinson was stopped, after the Illegal Migration Minister could not say why Lee Anderson’s comments about Sadiq Khan were wrong.
Mordaunt took part in both of the 2022 Tory leadership contests, finishing in third and second place respectively.
Sunak has come in second to last place in the survey
PAIn spite of this, she has repeatedly professed her support of Sunak.
Meanwhile, Badenoch has called those who want to replace Sunak with her “not her friends”, insisting that she fully supports the Prime Minister.
Earlier this week, the Conservatives hit their lowest score with polling firm Ipsos since it started tracking voting intention in 1978.
The Ipsos survey also showed that Sunak’s personal approving rating had dropped to lower than Liz Truss’ following her mini-Budget announcement in September 2022.