About 6 of the 10 Britons want Tory MPs to vote to remove Boris Johnson as leader tonight

Almost six out of ten Britons want Boris Johnson’s term in government to be ended tonight by a Tory MP wielding the axe.

According to a new poll conducted by Opinium, 59% of Conservative parliamentarians want to remove him from No. 10.

At the same time, a majority of Tory voters (53%) want him to stay in office, with only a third (34%) preferring him to leave.

Meanwhile, a YouGov poll of Tory members indicated that 53% want him to stay in office, while 42% want him ousted.

It comes ahead of a crucial vote in Parliament this evening that might determine the country’s future political path.

‘Thankfully for the Prime Minister, it will be Conservative MPs who decide his destiny tonight, not members of the public, because it is apparent that Partygate has undermined the people’s faith in his leadership,’ said Chris Curtis, head of political polling at Opinium.

‘Given that the majority of voters now want him out, even if he survives tonight’s vote, the Prime Minister faces a difficult task in turning things around before the next election.’

After a succession of major setbacks, including his own anti-corruption czar resigning and rival Jeremy Hunt joining the coup attempt, the Prime Minister has written to MPs appealing with them to ‘put a line’ under the raging infighting.

At least 54 MPs have requested a complete ballot, which will now take place between 6 and 8 p.m., with a result due at 9 p.m., according to backbencher Graham Brady.

Before that, Mr Johnson is giving a speech to his parliamentary party, and the results will be announced shortly after.

People believe the Conservatives are more split than Labour, according to an Opinium poll of 2,062 people conducted today.

If Mr Johnson loses tonight’s election, more than half of those polled by Opinium believe he should resign immediately, while 37% believe he should stay in office until a new leader is found.

In the event of a prime ministerial resignation, the latter is the most common method of power transfer.

At the moment, only 28% of people believe Boris Johnson will lead the Conservatives into the next election, while 58% believe it is doubtful.