Former shadow Chancellor Ed Balls’s popularity has soared following his lumbering appearances on Strictly Come Dancing, a poll has revealed.

His awkward yet somehow unmissable routines have resulted in the former Labour MP’s favourability among voters leap by 28 percentage points.

The exclusive ComRes poll for The Independent also showed Prime Minister Theresa May is the only politician to have a positive favourability rating, while both she and the Conservative Party do better than Jeremy Corbyn and Labour.

Boris Johnson was the most popular Conservative after Ms May, while shadow Chancellor John McDonnell was the most favoured Labour figure, beating Mr Corbyn.

In Mr Balls’s appearances on Strictly he nearly dropped his dance partner, painted his face bright green and rubbed his body suggestively in a way that would normally spell the end of any politician’s public standing.

But the performances also shed light on a more playful, amenable side to Mr Balls, once known as the toughest of Gordon Brown’s political bruisers.

In January 2015 when he was shadow Chancellor, his favourability rating – the proportion of people favourably disposed towards him, minus those unfavourably disposed – came in at minus 39 per cent.

Ed Balls performs Gangnam Style on Strictly

Today it stands at minus 11, with 21 per cent having a favourable opinion of him and 32 per cent an unfavourable one.

Only two current politicians beat Mr Balls in the poll, Ms May who scored a notably high plus 11, and Mr Johnson who hit minus 6.

The result is all the more interesting as it comes after a week in which the two Tories clashed over the Foreign Secretary’s outspoken comments accusing Saudi Arabia of playing "proxy wars".

While Downing Street was quick to slap down Mr Johnson, other Tories came to his support and backed what they saw as an accurate assessment of the situation in the Middle East.

Ed Balls loses seat

The next most popular Tory was Chancellor Philip Hammond who scored minus 12, the same score as the Tories more broadly.

The Labour Party scored minus 17, with Mr McDonnell coming in at minus 19. That may irk advisors in Mr Corbyn’s office, given the leader only scored minus 26, an equal rating to Ukip’s Nigel Farage.

The poll showed new Ukip leader Paul Nuttall, on minus 32, still has work to do before catching up with his predecessor. The public took a particularly grim view of US President-elect Donald Trump, giving him a score of minus 52.