Boris Johnson’s hopes of making a comeback as an MP in the next general election could be dashed by Rishi Sunak, sources close to the Prime Minister have said.
Days after he dramatically resigned as an MP, Mr Johnson has already made clear his intention to return to frontline politics, vowing: “I’ll be back.”
His bold pledge came as a dispute with his former chancellor over his resignation honours list played out in public.
Mr Sunak claimed Mr Johnson had asked him to overrule the House of Lords Appointments Commission after some of his proposed peerages were blocked. Mr Johnson hit back, accusing Mr Sunak of “talking rubbish”.
‘I’ll be back’
Mr Johnson used Arnold Schwarzenegger’s famous phrase, “hasta la vista, baby” in his final address to the House of Commons as prime minister last July.
On Monday, as his war of words with Mr Sunak escalated, Mr Johnson again used a phrase synonymous with the Hollywood actor to make clear his intention to return to frontline politics.
The Conservatives secured a landslide majority of 80 seats in the 2019 general election, on Mr Johnson’s campaign to “get Brexit done”.
The former prime minister, who departed Downing Street last September, reverted to his pledge to deliver Brexit in a bid to drum up support for a potential return to frontline politics.
“We must fully deliver on Brexit and on the 2019 manifesto,” he told the Daily Express on Monday. “We must smash Labour at the next election.
“Nothing less than absolute victory and total Brexit will do – and as the great Arnold Schwarzenegger said, I’ll be back.”
Voters in Mr Johnson's former constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip told The National they believe he may stand in the next election but in a different area.
But the ex-Tory leader is on track to hit a brick wall if he makes a bid to re-enter politics due to Mr Sunak’s opposition to the idea.
“Why would Rishi let Boris on to the candidate list? It’s pretty obvious to me that he won’t,” a senior Tory insider was quoted by The Guardian as saying.
The resignation of Mr Johnson, as well as his allies Nadine Dorries and Nigel Adams, has triggered a by-election nightmare for Mr Sunak.
His leadership was bruised by the May local elections which saw his party lose 1,000 council seats.
Meanwhile, the Tories continue to trail Labour in opinion polls by as much as 16 points.
The ballots will be an unwanted test for the Prime Minister, who has in recent months been working to move the party on from the tumultuous period it endured last year, with three leaders in as many months.
Addressing the House of Lords, Labour former minister Lord Foulkes of Cumnock accused Mr Johnson of “bullying” Mr Sunak in a bid to get his friends into the upper chamber of the Houses of Parliament.
“We will have an influx of new talent into this House – all of whom, sadly, appallingly and disgracefully, will be Conservative members, with no new opposition peers at all,” Lord Foulkes said.
“This list, put forward by Mr Boris Johnson, who bullied the Prime Minister into accepting it, is very interesting in many ways.”
The extraordinary clash between the Prime Minister and his former boss came as the Privileges Committee prepared to release their report into whether Mr Johnson deliberately misled parliament over the Covid-19 parties in Downing Street.
The scandal, known as “partygate”, was the subject of a probe by a cross-party panel of MPs.
During a lengthy evidence session before the committee in March, Mr Johnson staunchly defended his actions and insisted that social distancing rules were abided by where possible.
He claimed he was advised by senior officials that Covid rules and guidance had been complied with at all times in No 10 during the pandemic.
The report is expected to be published on Wednesday. The Times reported that it will find Mr Johnson deliberately misled MPs by claiming he had been given reassurances by aides that Covid rules were being followed.
