Theresa May beats Boris Johnson in poll for next Prime Minister

Ms May is favoured by Tory, Labour and Lib Dem voters, while Mr Johnson is favoured by Ukip supporters

Home Secretary Theresa May was the most popular to succeed David Cameron as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Theresa May narrowly beats Boris Johnson as the politician the public think would make the best Prime Minister, according to a YouGov poll.

The Home Secretary was the most popular to succeed David Cameron: as the chart by Statista shows, she is backed by 19 per cent of the public, compared to 18 per cent who backed the former Mayor of London.

Michael Gove came third with five per cent - while no other potential candidate received more than three per cent.

Jeremy Hunt, who announced his intention to run for leader, received one per cent.

Ms May is favoured by 31 per cent of Conservative voters, compared to 24 per cent for Mr Johnson.

She also leads among Labour and Lib Dem voters, by 18 per cent to 9 per cent and 31 per cent to 13 per cent respectively.

However, Mr Johnson has a clear lead of 48 per cent to 9 per cent among Ukip voters.

Nominations for the Tory party leadership open on Wednesday and close the following day, with a new prime minister and Conservative leader in place by 2 September.

Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb and Business Secretary Sajid Javid are reportedly considering standing on a joint ticket - Mr Crabb had two per cent while Mr Javid was on three per cent.

Other contenders include Education Secretary Nicky Morgan and former frontbencher Liam Fox, who was on three per cent.

Prominent Brexit campaigners Andrea Leadsom, minister for energy and climate change, and work and pensions minister Priti Patel are expected to stand, according to reports.

Additional reporting by Press Association