BRECON and Radnorshire MP Jane Dodds is the most likeable Welsh political leader, according to a new political poll by Cardiff University.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats leader has seen her public profile boosted since winning the by-election in August.

In the latest Welsh Barometer opinion poll for ITV Wales and Cardiff University, people were asked to rate a set of politicians on a 0 to 10 scale where 0 means ‘strongly dislike’ and 10 means ‘strongly like’.

The results show Ms Dodds leading with 3.8 out of 10 while leader of UKIP and assembly member for Mid and West Wales Neil Hamilton remained at the bottom at 2.2.

Since the last poll was taken in July, Ms Dodds’ ‘likeability’ has dropped by 0.4, however this period has seen her overtake Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price as Wales’ favourite political leader following his approval ratings slump from 4.7 to 3.6.

However Ms Dodds remains anonymous to 71 per cent of respondents.

Professor Roger Awan-Scully, from Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre, said: “Not a single one of these politicians has apparently risen in public esteem since July.

“As many of them will have experienced first-hand, this is not a great time to be a politician.

He added: “Despite their recent successes, and some modest improvements in their visibility, both Jane Dodds and Adam Price remain unknown to most of the Welsh electorate.”