Boris Johnson could try to force his way back into office if things go sour for his successor, a former minister has predicted as the Tory leadership race reached its final week.
Rory Stewart, who ran against Mr Johnson for the Tory leadership in 2019, likened him to former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and ex-US president Donald Trump, who are both plotting comebacks.
Mr Johnson is entering his final days in office as the Conservative Party prepares to announce its new leader on September 5, who will take office as prime minister the following day.
Voting ends on Friday and polls show Foreign Secretary Liz Truss leading former chancellor Rishi Sunak by a wide margin.
There was little campaigning on Monday, a bank holiday, but Mr Sunak wrote to supporters urging them to make "one final push" to persuade Conservative members.
With the cost of living crunch looming large over the race, Mr Sunak promised that "as your prime minister, I will get our country through this energy crisis".
Conservatives on the campaign trail - in pictures
Ms Truss is promising to fight the fire with tax cuts but there was criticism on Monday of the idea that she might slash VAT to ease the pain for consumers.
One Tory MP, Neil O'Brien, said cutting VAT would do little for frugal pensioners and working-class people since essential spending such as food is not covered by the sales tax in the first place.
The scale of the crisis, after regulators announced on Friday that energy bills were rising by 80 per cent, has already sparked doubts about whether the new leader will be equal to the challenge.
Alistair Darling, the chancellor during the 2008 financial crash, said the lesson was that government had to do "more than people expect" to keep the economy afloat.
Asked whether Mr Johnson might attempt a comeback if the new prime minister flops, Mr Stewart said the outgoing leader had an "extraordinary ego" and believed he bad been badly treated.
“He doesn’t see the reality, which is that he was a terrible prime minister and that he lost his job because of deep flaws of character," Mr Stewart told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
“And yes, I fear we’re going to end up with a second Berlusconi or a second Trump trying to rock back in again.”
Mr Stewart also told The Guardian that Mr Johnson is going to be "hovering around, hoping for a populist return”.
One obstacle could be the Commons Privileges Committee inquiry into whether Mr Johnson lied to MPs over Downing Street lockdown parties, but some of his allies have already denounced the probe as "a witch hunt”.
Mr Stewart, a long-time critic of Mr Johnson, quit the Conservative Party in 2019 after losing the whip for voting to block a no-deal Brexit.
He quit the party the following month and immediately launched a bid for the London mayoralty as an independent candidate but pulled out of the race after the vote was delayed to 2021, saying it was too difficult to sustain a campaign extended by the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Sunday, it was announced that he had been appointed president of the GiveDirectly international aid charity, which seeks to help donors send money straight to the world’s poorest households
Kat Wightman's tips on how to create zones in large spaces
- Area carpets or rugs are the easiest way to segregate spaces while also unifying them.
- Lighting can help define areas. Try pendant lighting over dining tables, and side and floor lamps in living areas.
- Keep the colour palette the same in a room, but combine different tones and textures in different zone. A common accent colour dotted throughout the space brings it together.
- Don’t be afraid to use furniture to break up the space. For example, if you have a sofa placed in the middle of the room, a console unit behind it will give good punctuation.
- Use a considered collection of prints and artworks that work together to form a cohesive journey.
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Company%20Profile
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Brief scores:
Huesca 0
Real Madrid 1
Bale 8'
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Sweet%20Tooth
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Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
Barbie
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The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe
Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 204hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 300Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
Results
2.30pm: Park Avenue – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 2,000m; Winner: Rb Seqondtonone, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
3.05pm: Al Furjan – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Bosphorus, Dane O’Neill, Bhupat Seemar
3.40pm: Mina – Rated Condition (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Royal Mews, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar
4.15pm: Aliyah – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,900m; Winner: Ursa Minor, Ray Dawson, Ahmad bin Harmash
4.50pm: Riviera Beach – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 2,200m; Winner: Woodditton, Saif Al Balushi, Ahmad bin Harmash
5.25pm: Riviera – Handicap (TB) Dh2,000 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Al Madhar, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
6pm: Creek Views – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Al Salt, Dane O’Neill, Erwan Charpy
THE DETAILS
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Dir: Ron Howard
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson
3/5
match details
Wales v Hungary
Cardiff City Stadium, kick-off 11.45pm