Theresa May is now almost as unpopular as pre-campaign Jeremy Corbyn, finds YouGov poll

In the space of a week, Theresa May has become almost as unpopular as Jeremy Corbyn once was

The latest YouGov favourability ratings show an extraordinary reversal in fortunes between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn

As no one has ever said, a year is an extremely, extremely long time in politics.

It is not yet a year since since Theresa May stood on the steps on 10 Downing Street, announcing plans to rebuild Britain as a fairer society, and received personal approval ratings higher than Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair at their respective peaks.

Now, according to new data from polling company YouGov, Theresa May is almost as unpopular as Jeremy Corbyn had been before start of the election campaign, when the Conservative lead over Labour was more than twenty points.

An extraordinary graph, plotting the popularity of both parties and their leaders over the last twelve months, shows a frankly bizarre reversal in fortunes between Labour and Conservative in the weeks before the general election.

Jeremy Corbyn’s personal approval has increased from a historic low of minus 42 to the comparatively giddy heights of zero.

Meanwhile, the public’s opinion on Theresa May has plummeted from 10 per cent favourability at the start of the campaign, to a staggering minus 34.

The Labour Party, whose election performance surprised virtually everyone, but who remain more than 50 seats short of the Conservatives and received three per cent less of the vote, have risen from minus 25 to plus 6.

The surge in popularity for Mr Corbyn includes a rise in favourability among 2015 Lib Dem voters from 15 per cent to 69 per cent during the election campaign.

Among Conservative voters, Theresa May had an 85 per cent favourability rating in April, which has now fallen to 57 per cent.

Under normal circumstances, Theresa May’s loss of her slim parliamentary majority in last week’s election, would make a second general election, forced by Theresa May’s cabinet opponents and hostile backbenchers, a near certainty.

But these latest figures will increase Conservative fears that they will lose any such contest to Labour and Jeremy Corbyn.