Julie Bishop has not ruled out leadership ambitions after a recent poll put her equal with Prime Minister Tony Abbott in the preferred Liberal Party leader stakes.

The pair each have 20 per cent support, according to the Fairfax Ipsos poll which reflected the growing popularity of the foreign minister over the last five months.

Ms Bishop said she was proud of the team and Tony Abbott was doing an “outstanding” job as prime minister.

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When asked about her leadership aspirations she said: “I’m very much part of our team, and looking forward to remaining so for some time to come.”

She said being foreign minister was her dream job.

“I can assure you that this is the job that I came into politics for,” she told Sky News.

Mr Abbott has also declined to anoint her as his heir apparent, describing her as a “stellar colleague”.