Kemi Badenoch has recorded her largest lead to date over Ed Davey in YouGov polling comparing public preference between the two party leaders, with 36% favouring her and 24% choosing him.

The result puts the Conservative leader 12 percentage points ahead of her Liberal Democrat counterpart. The record applies specifically to this pairing, rather than to Badenoch’s standing against other political leaders.

Although Badenoch leads Davey, her 36% share is not a majority. The figures measure preference between the two leaders; they do not establish how respondents would vote in an election. Without further polling details, they also do not explain what has driven the gap or whether it reflects rising support for Badenoch, falling support for Davey, or both.