How David Cameron (centre) could become a 'hyper-leader' (left) and 'anti-leader (right)

by Rhona Jamieson

David Cameron and Nick Clegg can put their success as leaders down to their faces - while some politicians will need plastic surgery to rise to the top.

Those are the results of a survey by Dr Chris Solomon and his research team at the University of Kent's Canterbury campus.

The experts asked 100 people to rank 100 faces in order of their perceived business acumen and leadership qualities.

They were then able to decide which features led to success - and which would make people less likely to follow them.

In men, this equated to a rectangular face with angular features, focused eyes, a thin straight mouth and healthy skin.

Women thought to be good leaders would have an oval face with wide, alert eyes, well-defined features and arched eyebrows.

Graphic by Ashley Austen

Dr Solomon, a senior lecturer in physics, said: "There is no question that we subconsciously respond to people's facial appearance in all kinds of ways and it takes most people about three seconds to form a first impression on someone."

Of the three party leaders, Nick Clegg was deemed to have the most successful looking "political face" with David Cameron not far behind.

However, Ed Milliband and Boris Johnson would need to spend more than £25,000 between them to make them more "electable", the survey found.

The work they would need would include rhinoplasty, eye bag removal and chin implants.

But Dr Solomon is not so sure aspiring political leaders should make a trip down to Harley Street.

He said: "In the US, politicians go to great lengths to make sure their appearance is immaculate, but I like to think people here are not quite as shallow as that and once they've had the opportunity of hearing and seeing somebody they'll form an opinion based on the actual facts."