Katy Balls Katy Balls

Is a Boris comeback really on the cards?

Boris Johnson (Credit: Getty images)

As MPs return to parliament after the Christmas break, Rishi Sunak is under pressure both on the NHS and strikes. Union leaders have been invited for talks with ministers today in a bid to find a landing zone (though there still seems to be a rather large gap between the two sides). Yet while aides in Downing Street worry about domestic issues, it’s another story that had MPs animated over the weekend: the prospect of a Boris Johnson comeback.

Key Johnson ally Nadine Dorries penned a piece for the Mail on Sunday declaring the Tories ‘must bring back Boris or die’. In her article – which referenced a report in the paper that Keir Starmer has been warned the return of Johnson poses the greatest threat to Labour at the next election – Dorries writes: ‘The future of Conservative MPs rests in their own hands, and they have a simple question to ask themselves: do they want to remain as MPs or not?’

Dorries isn’t alone. She is one of a number of political figures (from Jake Berry to Mark Spencer) to publicly suggest that Johnson is likely to return whether it is this side of the election or after a Tory loss in 2024. The new Conservative Democratic Organisation – backed by prominent Johnson backers Priti Patel and the Tory donor Lord Cruddas – is technically about giving power back to the members. But given Johnson’s support among the grassroots, some MPs see it as a front for a Boris comeback.

Johnson would face plenty of obstacles that would give the former prime minister pause for thought

As one MP put it to me about Johnson’s supporters before Christmas: ‘It’s very clear that they are creating the infrastructure in parliament and outside to mount a comeback.’

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