Conservative MPs want Boris Johnson to return as a “centrepiece” of the election campaign as the party battles to escape electoral disaster in the looming contest. There are even hopes that the former Prime Minister could stand for election again in a “blue collar” seat.
MPs remain in awe of Mr Johnson’s record of twice winning the London mayoralty, persuading the country to vote for Brexit and delivering the 2019 landslide. With the latest WeThink polling putting the Conservatives on 20 per cent – just 10 points ahead of Reform UK and 16 points behind Labour – there are warnings that Mr Johnson’s skills should not go to waste.
Sir John Hayes, who chairs the influential Common Sense group of Tory MPs said: “Boris is a remarkable campaigner as we’ve seen proved time and time again and it would be very wise indeed to engage him, and indeed to make him a centrepiece of the campaign.
“Boris has always inspired both a great admiration from many and scepticism and worse from some. But so it is with all vivid characters and his energy would add immensely to the Conservative brand so I do hope we will engage Boris. It would be very odd not to.”
A former minister suggested he could stand in “blue collar seat”, saying: “They love him in my council estates.” Another ex-minister who admitted they would welcome him back as leader, said Mr Johnson – who stepped down in September 2022 following the mass resignation of ministers – is “a rock star in my part of the world.”
However, the WeThink polling shows the public are sceptical that a comeback as a campaigner would boost Tory fortunes. More than half (56 per cent) did not think Rishi Sunak should ask him to campaign for the Tories with fewer than one in four (23 per cent) saying he should.
Just 26 per cent thought the presence of Mr Johnson would improve the party’s electoral chances, with 54 per cent saying it would not.
And 45 per cent said his campaigning efforts would “divide the party” with just 23 per cent seeing him as a force for unity.
However, likely Tory voters have a much more positive view of the ex-leader.
Nearly one in two (49 per cent) say the PM should ask him to get on the campaign trail, with 50 per cent believing he would boost their chances of success.
A former minister could see pros and cons about a return of Mr Johnson, warning that anger about Covid-era parties in Downing Street remains high. Acknowledging his ability to inject excitement into an election, they said: “If nothing else, he brings out campaigners.
“So if Boris turns up on a campaign you know you are going to get loads of footsoldiers along. Him being involved could be a positive thing for the seats he visits. There are certainly parts of the red wall that still quite like Boris.
“I guess the difficulty is when the camera crew turn up and they knock on a door and someone says, ‘My mum died in hospital and you guys were partying’ and that’s caught on camera. It’s tough, isn’t it, and I think there’s a risk of that given how much anger there is out there.”
