Ms Davidson has an overall approval rating +15 per cent, well ahead of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who is at 0 per cent approval as the percentage of voters thinking she is doing a good job tied at 43 per cent with those thinking she is performing badly.

However, the Yougov poll for the Times shows that Ms Davidson has a significantly higher ‘Don’t Know’ rating than Ms Sturgeon, with 26 per cent of voters either unsure of Ruth Davidson’s performance, or unaware of who she is.

Support for Labour and SNP down in Scotland - poll

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson. Picture: AFP/Getty.

That is twice as high as the percentage of voters who answered ‘Don’t Know’ in response to the question about Nicola Sturgeon’s performance.

Ms Sturgeon’s popularity was slightly higher among her base, with 84 per cent of SNP supporters believing she was performing well, compared to Ms Davidson’s 83 per cent rating among Conservative voters.

Newly elected Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard clearly has work to do to improve his perception and public recognition, as the poll showed that 12 per cent of voters think he is performing well, and 27 per cent believe he is performing badly.

A massive 60 per cent of voters responded ‘don’t know’ to the question of Mr Leonard’s performance.

Ms Davidson has enjoyed a higher profile since her party’s successes in Scotland at the snap general election last June, with increasing speculation about a potential move to Westminster.

British political leaders didn’t fare too well in the poll, with 68 per cent of voters rating Prime Minister Theresa May’s performance badly, while 43 per cent disapproved of Jeremy Corbyn’s performance.

The Labour leader’s 40 per cent ‘well rating’ was significantly down on the same poll in October.

Minor party leaders such as Patrick Harvie of the Green Party and Willie Rennie of the Liberal Democrats were not featured in the poll.

Ruth Davidson remains most popular leader - poll