Boris Johnson tops poll of Tory activists to be next party leader despite calls for Theresa May to sack him over Brexit meddling

BORIS Johnson has surged back to the top of the rankings for who Tory activists want to be their next leader despite calls for Theresa May to sack him over his Brexit meddling.

The Foreign Secretary leads the monthly ConservativeHome survey on 21 per cent as Jacob Rees Mogg sits in second place on 15, with Brexit Secretary David Davis just behind.

But in a sign those in the party are not entirely happy with any of the candidates on offer the option to pick “other” got 18 per cent of the vote.

What the findings do suggest is that Mr Johnson’s incendiary interventions on Brexit in the past few weeks have not harmed his chances of taking over from the Prime Minister.

And given that he was on seven per cent in last month’s poll suggests activists were pleased with his more optimistic vision of a post-Brexit Britain and backed his EU “red lines” published in The Sun.

They have triggered a huge backlash from Tory MPs and his Cabinet colleagues in a row that has threatened to overshadow the party conference in Manchester this week.

Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered a thinly-veiled attack on Mr Johnson by repeatedly saying that no ministers were “unsackable”.

And Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson aimed a pointed jibe at Mr Johnson, and suggested if she was PM then she would have sacked Mr Johnson.

She told a fringe event yesterday: “I have a lot of MSPs at this conference - if any of you think about writing anything without telling me that runs counter to Conservative policy, you're out on your ear because nobody is unsackable.”

The hugely popular figure doesn't appear in the current rankings, but has the highest approval of any Tory figure in ConservativeHome's approval ratings.

But this morning the PM struck a more friendly tone - saying she did not want a Cabinet full of “yes men”, suggesting she was unfazed by his interventions.

The Tory-supporting website, also published its monthly Cabinet satisfaction ratings - topped by David Davis, proving activists are in favour of the stance he is taking with Michel Barnier in the EU negotiations.

In second was Michael Gove, three per cent behind on a net approval of 62.4 per cent, with Michael Fallon the Defence Secretary in third.

Most of the Cabinet were in the positive - but Theresa May is still struggling on minus 1.7 per cent, while her Chancellor Philip Hammond was on minus 37 per cent - clearly still feeling the anger of hard Brexiteers for his push for a softer EU exit.

And Amber Rudd, who was reported to have hired top pollster Lynton Crosby in anticipation of a potential leadership bid, is also struggling on minus 8.6 per cent.