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Theresa May has plunged to her lowest leadership ratings yet, with just a third of the public satisfied with her, an exclusive poll reveals today.

At the same time, the Conservatives are scoring worse than when David Cameron was in government for being “divided”, “fit to govern” or offering a “good team of leaders”.

The findings by pollsters Ipsos MORI come after a disastrous party conference speech, two Cabinet resignations, sex scandals and Tory warfare over Brexit.

Labour’s image has improved over the past year, found the researchers, but Jeremy Corbyn’s team has similar ratings to Ed Miliband’s and are behind the Conservatives on the fit-to-govern question.

Key findings reveal:

Optimism about the economy has plunged to the lowest since 2011. A clear majority, 58 per cent, think things will get worse in the year ahead.

The Prime Minister’s ratings have hit rock bottom, with 32 per cent satisfied with her performance (down five) and 59 per cent dissatisfied (up 6), a net rating of minus-27.

Jeremy Corbyn’s ratings have declined, with 42 per cent satisfied (unchanged) and 49 per cent dissatisfied (+4), or -7 overall.

Three quarters of the public see the Tories as divided. The worst score when Mr Cameron was PM was 68 per cent in 2013.

Only 27 per cent think the Conservatives offer a good team of leaders, compared with the Cameron era’s lowest score of 36 per cent in 2012.

Fewer than half (43 per cent) say the Conservatives are fit to govern. Cameron’s worst score as PM was 46 per cent in 2012.

Only 38 per cent think Labour are fit to govern, while just 31 per cent think they offer a good team of leaders. The party is seen as divided by 62 per cent.

Labour has a slim two-point lead, unchanged since last month, which suggests the next general election is wide open. The parties stand at: Conservatives, 37 per cent (-1); Labour, 39 (-1); Lib Dems nine (NC); Green four (+1) and UKIP on four (NC).

Gove’s bid to be Chancellor a public flop He may have mastered some “economicky” words, but Michael Gove’s bid to be the next Chancellor of the Exchequer has flopped with the public. When people are asked who is best to run the Treasury, current Chancellor Philip Hammond trounces his Cabinet rival. Asked which would be the “most capable chancellor”, Mr Hammond came top with 49 per cent, while the ambitious Environment Secretary trailed on 19 per cent. Among Conservative supporters, Mr Hammond did even better, winning by 61 per cent to 20. The findings by Ipsos MORI will bolster Mr Hammond’s claim to stay on in the looming Cabinet reshuffle. Mr Gove was accused of “auditioning” for his colleague’s job when he began speaking in economic jargon during a recent Cabinet meeting. Mr Hammond also beat Labour rival John McDonnell, by a 41 to 32 per cent margin. But the gap between them has narrowed from 46-28 since November 2016. Last week’s Budget divided voters, with roughly equal numbers saying it was good or bad for them personally. Some 41 per cent thought it was good for the country, while 38 per cent said the opposite. Overall, these were the best post-Budget figures since 2015. However, a majority (54 per cent) said the Government’s policies would not improve the economy long term - which was the worst figure since 2009 when Alistair Darling was Chancellor. Nearly two thirds think the policies will fail to improve public services.

Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable is still battling to raise his profile, with over a third having no opinion of him. A quarter are satisfied while four in 10 are dissatisfied, a net score of -12.

Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos MORI, said the Conservatives had fallen behind but that Labour had yet “to open up a clear lead on being seen as ready for government”.