Penny Mordaunt's profile was boosted by her Coronation role (Image: GETTY)

       Tory voters believe Penny Mordaunt would be more likely to lead the party to victory at the next general election than Rishi Sunak, new polling suggests.

       The Commons Leader was the only candidate backed by 2019 Conservatives voters to give the party a better chance if she replaced the Prime Minister.

       The survey by Deltapoll and Helm Partners Ltd, found 38% opted for Ms Mordaunt as leader over Mr Sunak, while 31% said she would be worse, giving her a net score of seven.

       The Portsmouth North MP, whose profile was boosted by her sword-wielding role at the King's Coronation, is a former leadership candidate.

       Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron had a net score of minus 10 in the poll of 1,500 people who voted Conservative in 2019.

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       Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, who recently faced claims she was in a Tory WhatsApp group called "Evil Plotters", and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt are both on minus 20.

       Former home secretary Suella Braverman has a net score of minus 29.

       However she proved more popular with those planning to switch to Nigel Farage-linked party Reform UK who gave her a score of 43.

       Ex-Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg scored minus 34, while former prime minister Liz Truss was on minus 69.

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       The poll showed 54% of respondents planned to back the Tories again, with 14% switching to Labour and 13% to Reform UK.

       It comes as the Conservatives are trailing Labour by around 20 points in opinion polls with a general election due to take place by January 2025.

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