Liz Truss is the overwhelming favourite to become Britain’s next Prime Minister.
Yet more than half of her Tory backers would rather Boris Johnson STAYS in No10, extraordinary data shows.
Bombshell polling also claims the public would rather have Keir Starmer as PM than either Ms Truss or her rival Rishi Sunak.
The two polls out today, as thousands of Tory members have already cast their ballots, show the uphill struggle for the next Prime Minister on September 6.
An Opinium poll of 570 Conservative members showed 61% would pick Ms Truss over ex-Chancellor Rishi Sunak on 39% - a 22-point lead.
She had a 40-point lead among members over 65 and an eight point lead among those under 50.
Chris Curtis of Opinium said: “With many members having already returned their ballot papers, it is now very unlikely Truss won't become Prime Minister in September.”
But 63% of the Tory members who backed her in the poll said they would rather shamed Mr Johnson stay on as PM instead.
That number was even higher at 68% among Mr Sunak's supporters.
By comparison just 26% and 31% of the general public wanted Boris Johnson to stay as Prime Minister in these two scenarios.
It comes after the Sunday Mirror reported Boris Johnson and his allies are plotting a return to Number 10 before the next election if Liz Truss “implodes” as Prime Minister.
But ultra-loyalist Jacob Rees-Mogg insisted the PM wouldn't make a comeback, telling GB News: "Nobody’s come back having lost the leadership of the party since Gladstone. And I just don’t think in modern politics the chance of coming back is realistic."
Separate polling by Tory former peer Lord Ashcroft suggests Keir Starmer would beat both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss at the next election.
Choosing between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer for PM, 44% chose the Tory and 56% chose the Labour leader.
Choosing between Liz Truss and Keir Starmer for PM, 45% chose the Tory and 55% chose the Labour leader.
Lord Ashcroft polled 10,454 members of the public for the Mail on Sunday.
Ms Truss was taking a day off from the leadership race on Sunday, ahead of journeying to Scotland and Northern Ireland for hustings this week.
Her race for No10 became increasingly bitter as her allies branded Dominic Raab - a Sunak supporter who attacked her tax cuts - a “suicide bomber” who “would rather lose to Labour than win with Liz”.
They told Sunday newspapers the Deputy PM had “utter hatred” and “venom” for Liz Truss in “the saddest moment of the campaign”.
One added: “The guy has not just burned his bridges, he's torched the village.”
Any ally of Ms Truss hit back: “The charm offensive by Liz's team towards cabinet ministers they're trying to woo seems to now be missing the charm.”
Despite Cabinet minister Robert Buckland switching from Sunak to Truss this weekend, an ally of Mr Raab said he “isn’t for turning”.
Ms Truss today said she would take on the job of Minister for the Union to stop Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland being “let down by nationalist and Left-wing parties”.
And Mr Sunak outlined plans to make the UK "energy independent" by 2045 by boosting North Sea gas production, claiming it will prevent a repeat of the looming price crisis.
But his plan came under fire from environmental campaigners.
Greenpeace UK policy director Doug Parr fumed: "Has Rishi Sunak just been sat under an air conditioning unit all day?
“Despite the searing temperatures and drought declared by his own government, his plans for energy independence have completely ignored the fact that we're also grappling with a climate crisis.
“Someone should also remind him that his government has already made a legally binding commitment to cut emissions to zero by 2050."
