One in 10 UK voters hold a favourable opinion of Liz Truss after about six weeks as prime minister, becoming the most unpopular leader “by some distance” tracked by YouGov.

The survey, which questioned 1,724 British adults on October 14-16, showed that the figure had fallen from 15 per cent a week ago.

In a separate YouGov poll, conducted over the past two days among 530 Conservative party members, 55 per cent say Truss should resign. A third would like to see former prime minister Boris Johnson take over while 23 per cent prefer Rishi Sunak.

The popularity of Truss, who became prime minister in early September, has been sliding following a tax-cutting package, most of which was unwound this week.

“Truss is now by some distance the most unpopular leader we have tracked,” Patrick English, an associate director in the political and social research team of YouGov, said in a tweet.

Four out of five British adults view Truss unfavourably, while 62 per cent regard her “very unfavourably”. Twenty per cent of 2019 Conservative voters maintain a favourable view of her.

Truss has a net favourability rating of minus 70, a drop of 14 percentage points since last week, the YouGov poll said on Tuesday.

Truss on Friday sacked chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and replaced him with Jeremy Hunt, who on Monday ditched most of his predecessor’s fiscal package announced on September 23.

Truss is more unpopular than Johnson, her predecessor who resigned after a number of scandals, and her rivals for the Tory leadership, according to the YouGov poll.

Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons who stepped in for Truss on Monday in the House of Commons, ranked the highest among the top Tory figures with a favourability score of minus 17. Hunt has a favourability score of minus 41.