A new poll has shown that former British foreign minister Boris Johnson is the clear favorite to replace Prime Minister Theresa May as she is due to announce her resignation timetable early next month.
Results of the poll by YouGov for The Times newspaper published on Friday showed that Johnson, who resigned from May’s cabinet last year, is well ahead of his rivals to become the leader of the ruling Conservative Party.
The poll said Johnson had the support of 39 percent of the Tory party members compared to Dominic Raab in second place with 13 percent.
The poll comes just two days after Johnson said he was fully ready to occupy the position of Britain’s premiership at a time when the country struggles to leave the European Union.
May has been facing increasing calls for her to resign especially after she failed to secure a Brexit deal in the parliament on three occasions.
Senior Conservatives have insisted May’s failure to deliver Brexit has caused the party to lose much of its public support as it was evident in the local elections earlier this month when some 1,300 Tory councilors failed to get re-elected.
Head of a supervisory committee of the Conservatives said on Thursday that May had agreed to announce a timetable for her resignation once she submits her Brexit deal for a debate in parliament in the week starting on June 3.
Johnson, mayor of London until 2016, has been main critic of May’s Brexit strategy. He resigned from his post as foreign minister in July when May announced her plan of negotiations with the EU.