Boris Johnson: best of a bad bunch?

Ever since the ill-fated 2017 snap election results rolled in, Theresa May's weakened position as leader of the Conservatives has been under constant threat. On top of the disaster at the polling booths, a string of controversies and a far from smooth-running Brexit process have piled even more pressure on the Prime Minister. Chief among those seemingly gunning for the leadership is Boris Johnson.

Johnson has always been a divisive character in UK politics and the fact that he is being touted as most likely to become the next Conservative leader arguably shows how weak the pool of potential future leaders in the party is. This is backed up by a recent ICM Research survey which shows that, at least in the eyes of the general public, Boris might be the 'best of a bad bunch'. When asked whether they thought certain key figures would make the chances of a general election win better or worse, there was hardly an emphatic response for anybody. Top of the pile though in terms of having a positive effect, was Johnson, with 27 percent saying he would be a help rather than a hindrance - 45 percent thought the latter, though.