HAMILTON, Bermuda (CMC) — Former Attorney General Kim Wilson has emerged as the most popular legislator to lead the main opposition Progressive Labour Party (PLP), according to an opinion poll commissioned by the Royal Gazette newspaper.

But Michael Weeks emerged as the favourite among PLP supporters in the telephone survey which assessed the popularity of eight high-profile opposition MPs.

The telephone poll of 401 registered voters took place between December 8 and 14, and has a margin of error of plus or minus five per cent.

Wilson is seen by insiders as a moderate alternative to Opposition Leader Marc Bean’s radical style.

Wilson had a favourability rating of 36 per cent from registered voters with Bean getting 21 per cent.

Speculation of a challenge to Bean has grown in recent weeks after seven members of his shadow cabinet quit their posts in protest over his leadership style.

Wilson, Weeks, Zane DeSilva and Deputy Leader David Burt have all been touted as possible successors if rebel MPs succeed in forcing a delegates’ conference to oust 41-year-old Bean.

Bean has led the party since the PLP was narrowly beaten in a general election three years ago by the One Bermuda Alliance (OBA). Bean replaced former Premier Paula Cox, who lost her seat to a political newcomer.

Last year Bean easily survived a leadership challenge from fellow MP Walton Brown.

Another poll released by the Royal Gazette earlier this week showed the OBA has a commanding 12-point lead over the PLP, which ousted the now defunct United Bermuda Party (UBP) in 1998 and led the country for the next 14 years before being beaten by the OBA in the middle of rising unemployment in this British Overseas Territory.

Performance approval ratings of the party leaders, which assess public perception of how well they are doing their job, show 57-year-old Premier Michael Dunkley, who is also national security minister, enjoying a 28-point lead over Bean.

Dunkley’s score of 48 per cent, a rise of four points since the previous poll in May, is the highest for a leader of the country since Cox achieved the same figure in January 2011, shortly after she took the top job.

Bean’s rating of 20 per cent represents a fall of four points since May.

The OBA rose to power just over 18 months after being launched, following a merger between most UBP MPs and the short-lived Bermuda Democratic Alliance.

One of the seven who quit Bean’s shadow cabinet — Glenn Blakeney — has since retired from politics for personal reasons. He scraped in by just 19 votes over his OBA opponent in the 2012 election.

A by-election in his constituency — Devonshire North Central — will be held in the new year, although a date has not yet been set.