Boris Johnson’s bid to win over women voters appeared to be working today after a poll showed he had a huge lead over his Labour rival.
Almost six in 10 female Londoners said they would back the Mayor in a run-off, compared with four in 10 for Ken Livingstone.
The 18-point lead among women puts Mr Johnson in front overall — by 53 per cent to 47 per cent — as he lags slightly behind among men.
The YouGov survey for the Standard also shows that Mr Johnson is well ahead of his party in London, where the female vote is split almost equally between Labour and the Conservatives.
More women than men believe the cost of living and creating jobs — both key planks of Mr Johnson’s campaign — are the most important issues for the Mayor.
And he outperforms Mr Livingstone among female voters on charisma (47 per cent compared with 12 per cent) and honesty (21 per cent and 11 per cent). The only area Mr Johnson is beaten by Mr Livingstone is on being in touch with the concerns of ordinary people.
London government expert Tony Travers said: “You can see how some groups of voters might find Boris’s gentler, more collegiate approach to governing to their taste.
“It looks less aggressive, but that doesn’t have to mean less effective. He has great charisma and that appears to have a much more powerful effect on female voters than male ones, particularly given that the Conservative party has been seen to be pursuing policies that are bad for female voters.”
Tim Montgomerie, editor of Conservative Home, said: “There is something authentic about Boris. His great selling point is that he’s never been uncomfortable in his own skin or hidden his background.
"Perhaps women have a particular warmth towards that straight presentation.”
