When Boris Johnson stepped down as prime minister last month, he likened himself to Cincinnatus, a Roman statesman who returned “to his plough” before being called back into politics.
But not even Johnson’s diehard supporters could believe that he would have the chance to become Conservative party leader and prime minister again so soon after being ousted following several scandals, including partygate. Johnson was on holiday in the Dominican Republic this week when Liz Truss announced that she was resigning as Tory leader, prompting a quick-fire contest to succeed her.
Johnson is due back in London on Saturday to decide whether to join the race to succeed her. Although he has yet to formally declare he is standing, most of Johnson’s friends and allies think he will try to make one of the most remarkable comebacks in British politics — if he is convinced he can win the Tory crown.
“He’ll find it hard to resist,” said one friend. One person close to Johnson confirmed that he was considering a bid for the Tory leadership but added “no decisions have been taken”.
Johnson’s potential return to Downing Street raises questions about whether he could command a majority in the House of Commons because some Conservative MPs strongly oppose him.
He is also under investigation as to whether he knowingly misled parliament about government parties during Covid-19 lockdowns — if he is found to have done so, he risks being ejected from office once again. Several of Johnson’s allies have declared that they will support him replacing Truss, including business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg, defence secretary Ben Wallace and levelling-up secretary Simon Clarke.
Conservative sources claim that if Boris Johnson returns as prime minister he could be ‘gone by Christmas’, due to damning new evidence about the partygate scandal which brought him down.
Several people familiar with the Privileges Committee’s investigation into whether Boris Johnson misled MPs over parties in No10 have spoken to ITV News.
They say that a large amount of damaging evidence from inside No10 has already been handed over to Harriet Harman, who is chairing the inquiry.
Focus has once again turned to the Privileges Committee following speculation that Boris Johnson may attempt to return as Prime Minister.
He has gained some early momentum in the race, with dozens of MPs hoping that he can improve the party’s polling.
However, if the Privileges Committee finds that Boris Johnson did indeed mislead MPs over partygate, the former Prime Minister would be facing a potential suspension from the House of Commons and may even be forced to resign a second time.
A significant number of MPs worry that this will only plunge the party back into chaos.
One Conservative source told ITV News: “It is amazing that some Tory MPs want Boris back, saying they think he can win them the next election.
FT, ITV
