If the public could elect the Isle of Man's next chief minister now, the job would go to Ramsey MHK Allan Bell.

The economic development minister topped a poll of eight possible candidates, in the Island-wide 'Manx People Power' survey.

The independent research, the first of its kind ever carried out in the Isle of Man, has already shown an overwhelming majority of the Manx public want candidates interested in becoming chief minister to declare their intentions before next month's House of Keys general election.

The survey was commissioned by marketing expert Professor Hugh Davidson (listen to audio file below):

At present, none of the front-runners in the poll have confirmed they want the job!