Brutal polling exhibits public actually would not care who turns into subsequent Tory chief

An overwhelming majority of the public don’t care who becomes the next Tory leader, brutal polling shows.

A massive 62% said they aren’t bothered who takes over from Rishi Sunak after the party’s General Election mauling. And even large numbers of Conservative voters are apathetic, with a third saying they don’t personally care who takes the top job.

Six MPs – James Cleverly, Dame Priti Patel, Robert Jenrick, Tom Tugendhat and Mel Stride – are vying to become leader of the opposition. They will be tasked with uniting a bitterly divided party after years of internal squabbling, and get the public to care again.

But in alarming news for Conservative HQ, polling firm Ipsos found a “significant proportion” of the public don’t know much about the leading candidates. When asked who they think would be the best for the job, 15% even opted for two fictional MPs.

The poll of more than 1,000 adults across the UK also found that an endorsement from Liz Truss could be fatal to a candidate. A massive 65% said their chances of winning would be hampered if the disaster ex-PM backs them.

Trinh Tu, a director at Ipsos, said: “This new poll suggests a high level of public apathy about the Conservative leadership race. James Cleverly, Priti Patel, and Tom Tugendhat emerge as early front runners , with former Home Secretary Priti Patel appearing to be the most divisive figure. However, a significant portion of Britons are unfamiliar with the main candidates and say they do not care very much about who will emerge as the winner.”

Those who responded reckon Mr Cleverly is most likely to do a good job, with 18% singling him out. Dame Priti and Mr Tugendhat follow closely behind on 17%. Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick – early favourites in the race – got 14% each, while Mel Stride got 9%. Embarrassingly Stewart Lewis was backed by 9% and Sarah Lewis by 6% – despite both of them being made up.

The winning candidate will be announced on November 2, meaning Mr Sunak is being forced to remain in charge until then. The final two candidates will be selected by MPs, with party members then having the final say.