Both of the remaining Conservative leadership candidates have already managed to repel more than a third of voters over their divisive views, according to new findings.
Tory MPs just kicked James Cleverly out of the race to replace Rishi Sunak, meaning Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick are battling it out to win over party members, who have the final say over who will be the next leader.
But new research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats and carried out by Savanta, found both of the remaining candidates actually repel the general public by the same amount.
According to the stats, more than three in 10 (35%) would be less likely to vote Tory if the party’s new leader was someone who has said they would vote for Donald Trump.
That will be disappointing news for Jenrick’s campaign, as he made headlines for saying he would support the Republican nominee if he were American in August.
Badenoch’s team will be equally frustrated, after 35% of the 2,003 respondents said they would be less likely to vote blue if their leader had called maternity pay “excessive”.
The shadow cabinet minister said exactly that at the Conservative conference earlier this month, although later issued a “clarification” saying she did not think it was excessive but “we must talk about the burden of excessive business regulation”.
Liberal Democrat cabinet office spokesperson Sarah Olney said: “Far from a serious leadership election, this group of chaotic Conservatives seem to be having the biggest unpopularity contest of the year.”
They continued: “Each failed minister standing for their party’s leadership is grossly out of touch and has a tainted record of taking voters for granted.
“Former Conservative voters abandoned the party in massive numbers at the last election. In so many places across the country, people are backing the Liberal Democrats who are speaking up for them on the issues that matter most like saving our NHS, tackling the cost of living crisis and stopping the sewage scandal.”
The survey – conducted before MPs surprised political pundits by voting out Cleverly – also said the shadow home secretary put off voters by an equal amount, with 35% saying they would be less likely to vote for the Conservatives if the leader had made a comment trivialising drink-spiking.
Cleverly, who was seen as the frontrunner after taking the most votes from Tory MPs in Tuesday’s ballot, was criticised for an “ironic” joke on that topic last December.
He also backed former PM Liz Truss, a fact which would deter 31% of voters, according to Savanta’s research.
