The post you are reporting:
Boris Johnson would destroy Labour opinion poll lead if he were leader
Boris Johnson would demolish Labour's opinion poll lead if he replaced David Cameron
as Conservative leader, an opinion poll found today.
With Mr Cameron in charge, the Tories trail by six points, winning 31 per cent backing
compared with 37 per cent for Labour, according to research by YouGov.
However, the figures turned around when people were asked to imagine how they would
vote if the London Mayor was Conservative leader.
Asked to choose between Mr Johnson and Ed Miliband, the two parties were level-pegging
on 37 per cent each.
The findings, for the London Evening Standard, underline the Mayor's ability to reach
out to wavering voters.
They also suggest his bruising encounter on Sunday with the BBC's Eddie Mair,
who called him a "nasty piece of work" could have even boosted his popularity.
When the same question was asked a week ago, the result was a two-point Labour lead, at 38 to 36.