Boris Johnson has topped betting once again following the conclusion of June hustings in Manchester yesterday. Betmakers now have the ex-London Mayor winning out over Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who briefly sustained a lead in the polls. Jeremy Hunt is now trailing behind, but Tories are increasingly thinking positively of the “underdog” candidate.
Boris Johnson now stands on his shortest odds to become the next Tory leader.
According to betmakers with Ladbrokes, the ex-Foreign Secretary is now on odds of 1/8 to take the leadership bid.
Jeremy Hunt, on the other hand, is now on 5/1, lagging behind.
Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: “It’s hard to see anything other than Boris replacing May as Tory leader and subsequently PM.”
The firm also provided 1/6 odds Boris Johnson would be the next Prime Minister, and 7/4 odds Jeremy Corbyn could become Prime Minister at any point.
A recent poll by the Observer found a similar disparity between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt.
An Observer Opinum poll of 1,000 people found 52 percent would back Mr Johnson as Prime Minister, while 30 percent would back Mr Hunt.
Some 61 percent of respondents also said Mr Johnnson would beat Jeremy Corbyn in a General Election, compared to just 19 percent on Jeremy Hunt’s side.
More than two-thirds of people (71 percent) believed Mr Johnson would be most likely to get the UK out of the EU by October 31.
In some good news for Jeremy Hunt, the gap between the two candidates narrows when people were asked who would be the better Prime Minister.
While Boris Johnson was still the resounding favourite with 47 percent, Jeremy Hunt was only 20 points behind on 27 percent.
These results show Mr Hunt is slowly swaying opinion among the Tory grassroots towards positivity.
However, Mr Johnson’s alleged fight with girlfriend Carrie Symonds last week has not alienated Tory voters.
Here are the full latest odds from Ladbrokes:
Next Tory Leader
Boris Johnson – 1/8
Jeremy Hunt – 5/1
Next PM
Boris Johnson – 1/6
Jeremy Hunt – 5/11
Jeremy Hunt – 66/1
Will Jeremy Corbyn ever become PM?
No – 2/5
Yes – 7/4
