Rudd, Turnbull beat their leaders in poll

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott are playing second fiddle in the popularity stakes as leaders of their parties, according to a new poll.

File photo Source: AAP

The latest Nielsen poll, published in Fairfax newspapers on Monday, shows more voters would prefer Kevin Rudd as federal Labor leader, while on the coalition side more voters want former leader Malcolm Turnbull in charge of the Liberal Party.

And to make matters worse for the prime minister, the coalition has a thumping 54 to 46 lead on the two-party preferred measure.

She may be the flavour of the month in the US, but Ms Gillard's personal approval rating at home has slumped to its lowest level since she toppled Mr Rudd from the leadership.

She received just 35 per cent of the votes compared to Mr Rudd's 39 per cent when voters were asked about leadership.

Mr Abbott didn't fare much better on the other side of the political fence, with voters preferring the man he replaced - Malcolm Turnbull, by 37 to 31.