Jeremy Corbyn has said he will look to “force an early general election” after claiming it was “ludicrous” to suggest Theresa May could stay in power.

The Labour leader made the claim before speaking at Unison’s annual conference in Brighton and also added he was pleased with the party’s recent surge in opinion polls.

Mr Corbyn’s approval rating has been on the rise since the general election and it appears he will now attempt to pile pressure on the Prime Minister.

“Mrs May called the election so not to have a coalition of chaos, but that is exactly what we have got, they don’t seem to have come to an agreement with the DUP two weeks after the election,” Mr Corbyn told the Daily Mirror.

“We will challenge this Government at every step and try to force an early general election.”

The Labour leader’s remarks come as he overtook Ms May for the first time as voters’ choice for who would make the better Prime Minister, according to a YouGov poll for The Times.

A total of 35 per cent of people thought Mr Corbyn would make the best Prime Minister, one point higher than Ms May.

It is the first time the Labour leader has beaten Ms May in an opinion poll since she took office and it comes despite the Tories having been more than 20 points ahead of Labour when Ms May called for a general election in April.

A similar poll, conducted on the eve of the election, had Mr Corbyn nine points behind Ms May, with 43 per cent opting to choose the current Prime Minister.