Return of Boris Johnson could destroy Tory party, warns William Hague

Rishi Sunak’s supporters are urging Boris Johnson not to stand in the Tory leadership contest, warning that he would leave the Conservative Party in a “death spiral”.

The former prime minister is flying back from a holiday in the Caribbean today as he prepares to make an extraordinary political comeback after the resignation of Liz Truss.

His supporters are increasingly confident that he will have the support of the 100 Tory MPs needed to stand in the contest to replace her, and believe he will beat Sunak, his former chancellor, in a vote of the party membership.

William Hague: Boris Johnson returning as PM is the ‘worst idea’

They argue that he has a mandate from the public, having won the 2019 general election, and is the only candidate who can turn the fortunes of his party around. Johnson has told his supporters that he is “up for it”.

Sunak’s allies, who said last night he had passed the threshold of 100 backers, claim that a second term for Johnson would be “catastrophic” for the economy. In an attempt to avoid another bruising leadership battle, senior party figures are seeking to broker a deal between Johnson and Sunak to stand on a united ticket. One Conservative involved in the talks said: “Boris and Rishi need to sit down in a room and work this out between them. They need to act like grown-ups in the national interest and decide who does what.”

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However, a senior Tory who has worked with both men said the animosity between them would be too great for any agreement on who should be prime minister. “They hate each other, it’s visceral,” the source said. “They have totally different prospectuses, totally different visions for the economy.”

Lord Hague of Richmond, a former Conservative Party leader, told Times Radio that bringing Johnson back was “the worst idea I’ve heard of in the 46 years I’ve been a member of the Conservative Party”. He said the government “was doing pretty well until about 18 months ago . . . considering all the problems facing the country”, adding: “Then things have unravelled spectacularly, including with this disastrous, latest six weeks. And this all started because Boris Johnson was unable to . . . uphold the high standards of conduct that are necessary in the highest offices in the land.

“I don’t know what exact form this death spiral I’m talking about would take, but it would be a spiral. And very difficult to pull it back together again.”

Another senior Tory MP on Sunak’s campaign said: “There is no evidence that during his time as prime minister that he grasped the need for restraint in spending or had any understanding of how the public finances work. ‘Cakeism’ may sound a wonderful concept but the past six weeks have proven that it has catastrophic consequences.”

• Can Johnson make a comeback? Seven possible outcomes in the race for No 10

Nadine Dorries, the former culture secretary and a Johnson supporter, hit back, saying: “Rishi’s team are aggressive and ruthless and will stop at nothing until he wins. Whether that means bringing down Boris, Liz or anyone else . . . the party needs to unify. That is never going to happen with Rishi.”

Johnson and Sunak are both yet to formally announce they are standing. So far the only confirmed contender is Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons, who has the backing of at least 21 Tory MPs.

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Sunak has the public endorsement of 98 Tory MPs including the former cabinet ministers Sajid Javid and Dominic Raab, although last night his supporters claimed that the true total had passed 100. Johnson has already been backed by 48 Tory MPs, including six members of the cabinet: Ben Wallace, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Simon Clarke, Alok Sharma and Chris Heaton-Harris.

Candidates have until 2pm on Monday to reach 100 nominations. If only two candidates reach the threshold, the contest will go straight to an online ballot of party members, with the result announced on Friday.

Last night a YouGov poll for The Times highlighted the scale of the challenge facing the Tories. It suggested that Sunak would come closest to winning a general election, but all Tory contenders would lose to Labour.

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Sunak would come closest to beating Starmer at election, poll finds

Rishi Sunak would be the Conservative leadership candidate who would come closest to winning a general election — but all of them would lose to Sir Keir Starmer, polling suggests (Henry Zeffman writes).

A YouGov poll for The Times pitted Sunak, Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt against the Labour leader. In a match-up between the former prime minister and Starmer, the Labour leader was preferred by 48 per cent and Johnson by 35 per cent.

Polling shows that Sir Keir Starmer would beat all current Conservative hopefuls in a general election

CHRIS J RATCLIFFE/GETTY IMAGES

Sunak — who has been backed by Sajid Javid — ran Starmer closer, with 34 per cent choosing him compared with 43 per cent for the Labour leader. Mordaunt, the first candidate to announce officially that they are running, fared the worst: 43 per cent chose Starmer and 28 per cent chose her.

Asked how they thought each candidate would fare as prime minister, 43 per cent said that Sunak would do a good job and 40 per cent said he would do a bad job. Asked about Johnson, 34 per cent said he would do a good job and 56 per cent said he would do a bad job. Twenty-six per cent of Britons said Mordaunt would do a good job, and 35 per cent a bad job.

Johnson retains particular strength among 2019 Conservative voters, which may boost MPs’ hopes that he could repeat the trick as prime minister again — despite a warning from William Hague, their former leader, that bringing him back would lead to a “death spiral” for the party. Among those who voted Tory at the last general election, 73 per cent would prefer him to Starmer, whereas 15 per cent would choose Starmer. Twelve per cent were undecided.

For Sunak, 67 per cent of 2019 Conservatives would prefer him to Starmer, and 14 per cent would prefer Starmer, with 19 per cent unsure.

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As the Conservatives seek a new leader, Labour have recorded their largest lead with YouGov since it began polling. Labour is on 56 per cent, up five points on last week, 37 points ahead of the Conservatives on 19 per cent.

YouGov polled 1,700 Britons on Thursday and Friday.

Another cabinet minister backs Johnson

Boris Johnson has picked up another endorsement from a cabinet minister as Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the trade secretary, gave her backing.

She tweeted: “I have worked closely with @BorisJohnson for many years. He can continue to deliver for the country and already has a mandate. It’s time to #bringbackboris.”

Earlier, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, and Simon Clarke, the levelling-up secretary, also threw their support behind the former PM.

But it is Rishi Sunak, chancellor under Johnson, who has picked up the highest total number of endorsements from MPs thus far.

• Who is backing the candidates?

20,000 face exclusion from Tory leadership vote

Thousands of elderly Conservative Party members could be excluded from voting in the leadership contest because the party does not have an email address for them.

Officials will phone those members without an email over the weekend to urge them to add an email address to enable them to vote in the contest, party sources told The Times.

There are also fears that even those with an email address could be disenfranchised after it emerged that some members have not received an “entitled to vote” message. Most members received confirmation of their right to a vote on Thursday evening, hours after Liz Truss resigned as prime minister.

For the first time in the party’s history, members will choose the next prime minister exclusively in an online ballot, as long as more than one candidate is put forward by MPs on Monday.

• Read full story

‘Abundantly clear’ we need Sunak, says Javid

The former chancellor Sajid Javid has endorsed Rishi Sunak as the candidate to succeed Liz Truss as prime minister (Geraldine Scott writes).

The two men, whose resignations were instrumental in Boris Johnson’s downfall and came within minutes of each other, will now work together to defeat Johnson’s hopes of returning.

Javid, a friend of Sunak’s, backed Truss to lead the Conservative Party in the summer in a damaging blow to Sunak’s campaign, saying she was best to “reunite the party”.

He became the 74th Tory MP to publicly back Sunak. In his endorsement, Javid wrote that “it is abundantly clear that Rishi Sunak has what it takes to match the challenges we face”.

How the leadership election will work

In the wake of the lengthy leadership battle over the summer — which notoriously took longer than the winner, Liz Truss, has spent in power — the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers has imposed a much more restricted timeline on the latest version. Candidates must secure their backers this weekend, and the result will be finalised next Friday.

Mordaunt first to officially stand

Penny Mordaunt secured 105 MPs to Liz Truss’s 113 in the penultimate round of the summer contest

HENRY NICHOLLS/REUTERS

Penny Mordaunt has become the first declared candidate to succeed Liz Truss as prime minister (Henry Zeffman writes).

Mordaunt, the leader of the Commons, finished third in this summer’s leadership election.

“I’ve been encouraged by support from colleagues who want a fresh start, a united party and leadership in the national interest,” Mordaunt said. “I’m running to be the leader of the Conservative Party and your prime minister — to unite our country, deliver our pledges and win the next general election.”

• Rivalry between Sunak and Johnson could make Mordaunt the unity choice

Mordaunt, 49, has been the MP for Portsmouth North since 2010. She held a string of junior ministerial positions under David Cameron, before serving as international development secretary and briefly defence secretary under Theresa May. She held junior ministerial positions under Boris Johnson but narrowly missed out on facing off against Rishi Sunak before party members this summer.

Pound slumps amid Johnson leadership speculation

The pound slid 0.5 per cent against the dollar to $1.11, wiping out most of the gains made after the chancellor announced a reversal of the bulk of the tax cuts in the mini-budget.

The slump in the currency comes amid mounting speculation that Boris Johnson will seek to regain leadership of the Conservative Party and a global backdrop that had led the dollar to strengthen. The Tories are expected to announce a new leader by next Friday.

The pound is down 18 per cent against the dollar this year and touched an all-time record low of $1.03 in the aftermath of the fiscal statement on September 23. Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, has promised to do “whatever necessary” to bring down government borrowing in a medium-term fiscal plan due on October 31.

Third cabinet backer for Johnson

A former ally of Rishi Sunak has thrown his weight behind Boris Johnson as the former prime minister gained a third cabinet backer (Geraldine Scott writes).

Simon Clarke, the levelling-up secretary, and Ben Houchen, the Tees Valley mayor who was key in Sunak’s summer campaign, said Johnson could form a “broad-based, inclusive government drawing on talent from right across the Conservative Party, driven by a disciplined Downing Street”.

“Boris is the person we need to lead our country and our party,” they told The Daily Telegraph. “He won the greatest election victory for years on a mandate to unite and level up the UK, and inspired millions of people who had never voted Conservative before to get behind a generous, optimistic vision of what Britain can be.

Simon Clarke joined Ben Houchen to publicly back Boris Johnson

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JACK HILL

“People on Teesside love Boris because he recognised that while talent is evenly distributed across the country, opportunity is not. Boris gave us that opportunity. People who have felt left behind from governments of both colours want their prime minister to make a success of Brexit, control illegal immigration and invest in our communities.

“That’s what Boris would do and it’s why he is so popular right across the Red Wall seats that will decide the next election.”

Ukraine deletes tweet backing Johnson

President Zelensky has hailed his personal relationship with Boris Johnson

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The Ukrainian government has deleted a tweet which appeared to back Boris Johnson to return to Downing Street (Peter Stubley writes).

On Thursday night, after The Times reported that the former prime minister was attempting a political comeback, the official @Ukraine account posted an internet meme based on the hit Netflix drama Better Call Saul.

It showed the main character holding a cutout of Johnson’s face on a stick, next to the caption “Better Call Boris”.

The post was criticised by some British Twitter users as “inappropriate” and a “bad joke”. Steve Peers, a law professor at the University of Essex, replied: “Have you considered not commenting on other countries’ political processes — with a view to not alienating your broad base of support, and because you simply don’t understand what’s going on there?”

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, said he was “surprised” when he saw the tweet but added: “In the circumstances that they face, my absolute focus is on giving Ukraine all the support we possibly can.”

President Zelensky had expressed his “sadness” at Johnson’s resignation statement in July. He later said in an interview: “My personal relationship with Boris accelerated the level of British support that was provided. The British were the leaders in this kind of support.”

Braverman’s leadership hopes are slipping away

Suella Braverman quit as home secretary earlier this week

RICHARD POHLE FOR THE TIMES

Suella Braverman was still trying to persuade Conservative MPs to back her for leader in parliament today, but her chances of attracting 100 backers look increasingly unlikely (Matt Dathan writes).

Several MPs say they have been approached, but one of those was Tom Pursglove, who had already declared for Boris Johnson.

The problem the former home secretary faces is the more MPs who come out for Boris Johnson, the slimmer her chances of reaching 100 MPs to back her. An ally said: “Time is of the essence. Unless she puts her foot on the accelerator, it’s looking unlikely.”

Her supporters in parliament admit that the only chance she has of entering the race is if Johnson decides not to stand.

Truss could still hand out peerages

Liz Truss announced her resignation after just 44 days in Downing Street

JACK HILL FOR THE TIMES

Liz Truss could give out resignation honours despite only being prime minister for 44 days before resigning (Geraldine Scott writes).

The list drawn up by Boris Johnson when he left power has not yet been revealed, but Downing Street said it was a convention that all outgoing prime ministers can issue a list, leaving the door open for Truss to hand out knighthoods and peerages.

It comes as Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, said Truss should turn down a £115,000 allowance that will be afforded to her after she steps down.

He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “She should turn it down. I think that’s the right thing to do. She’s done 44 days in office, she’s not really entitled to it, she should turn it down and not take it.”

The allowance, under the public duty costs allowance, was introduced in 1991 by Sir John Major after the resignation of Margaret Thatcher.

It covers only the actual cost of “continuing to fulfil public duties” and recognise the “special position in public life” of former prime ministers. It cannot be used to support private or parliamentary duties and if another public appointment is accepted, the amount available is reviewed.

No way back for Johnson, says former backer

George Eustice, who served as environment secretary under Boris Johnson, said he ‘can’t see how it’s possible for him to return’

ALAMY

A former cabinet minister who was “loyal to Boris to the very end” has said he cannot see a road back to No 10 for the former prime minister (Geraldine Scott writes).

George Eustice, who served as environment secretary under Boris Johnson, backed Rishi Sunak in the Conservative leadership race and said the former chancellor had been “vindicated”.

He told Times Radio: “I was loyal to Boris to the very end. I think there’s a really important question, which is the reason he left wasn’t because he was tired and had had enough or he wanted to go, it was because he was on the brink of losing a vote of no confidence in a catastrophic way.”

He added: “I mean, half of his own ministers quit his government on the final day, because they all said that they’d lost confidence in him, and I really can’t see how it’s possible for him to return.”

Backing Sunak, he said: “I think his judgement has been vindicated over the last few weeks because, of course, he warned against the course of action that Liz Truss finally went on and was proved correct.”

Ruth Davidson, the Tory peer and former Scottish Conservative leader, also said she was supporting Sunak.

She told Times Radio: “The biggest challenges that were facing us were economic ones. The fact that the headwinds internationally were huge. The person that best understood that, the smartest person in the room, the person best to navigate those sort of tricky waters was Rishi. And I think that’s still the case.”

The key contenders to replace Liz Truss

With the Tories gearing up for a second leadership contest in two months, The Times examines the runners and riders for the top job.

Rishi Sunak, who finished as the runner-up to Liz Truss last month, has emerged as the early frontrunner today, with the most declared backers.

However, many Tory MPs remain furious about his role in defenestrating Boris Johnson. The former prime minister, who has never made any secret of his desire to return one day, is weighing up a comeback bid and has secured the second highest number of backers.

• Read in full

Wallace rules himself out and ‘leans towards’ Johnson

Ben Wallace said Boris Johnson has a mandate from the country

ANTHONY DEVLIN/REUTERS

Ben Wallace has ruled himself out of running to be Tory leader while suggesting he could back Boris Johnson for a return.

The defence secretary said he wanted to focus on his brief but “leans towards” Johnson, citing his mandate from 2019 and the need to win the next election.

Wallace, who is popular among Tory members, said: “It’s really important to consider, for me, which candidate will recognise the very pressing security concerns that face this country.”

Ben Wallace rules out a leadership bid

He said this included maintaining defence spending and said Johnson had supported him. However he admitted Johnson would have “some questions to answer” over an investigation into whether he misled the Commons.

But he said: “In 2019 he won a general election with a huge majority and he was legitimately sent into parliament as the prime minister based on the vote of the whole electorate, not just on Tory members, not just on members of parliament, he got a mandate and I think that’s an important thing for all of us to bear in mind.”

• Listen to Stories of our times: What next for party and country?

Wallace was the second cabinet-level endorsement for Johnson, after Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, backed him this morning.

Boris is Britain’s Berlusconi, Lib Dems say

The former Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, seen in Rome today

GREGORIO BORGIA/AP

The Liberal Democrats have launched a bid to block Boris Johnson from becoming prime minister for a second time.

The party has tabled a motion in parliament that seeks to stop MPs found to have broken the law while in government from getting into No 10.

Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “Boris Johnson is Britain’s Berlusconi. Conservative MPs are flocking to support yet another disgraced prime minister.

“The British public will never forget the way Boris Johnson repeatedly lied to them over his Covid lawbreaking. Partygate and the subsequent cover-up proved he is unfit to govern this great country.

“From his illegal lockdown parties to his government’s unlawful failure to protect care home residents during the pandemic, Boris Johnson’s tenure as prime minister demonstrated that he simply has no regard for rules or for the general public.

“It is time to end this Conservative Party soap opera. People’s mortgage bills are spiralling out of control and local health services are at breaking point. The country deserves better than yet more Conservative chaos and incompetence.”

Rees-Mogg launches ‘Boris or bust’ campaign for Johnson comeback

Jacob Rees-Mogg appears to be running the campaign to get Boris Johnson back into Downing Street

ALAMY

Jacob Rees-Mogg has become the first cabinet minister to back Boris Johnson to return as prime minister with the slogan “Boris or bust” (Geraldine Scott writes).

Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, confirmed his support this morning after reports that he was running a nascent campaign to return Johnson to No 10.

Backers of Johnson think he is the only candidate who could prevent the Tories being “completely wiped out” at the next election.

But Richard Graham, who is backing Rishi Sunak, said Johnson’s return would be “incredibly difficult”.

The Tory MP told Times Radio: “I think it’d be incredibly difficult because, you know, he is currently under investigation by the privileges committee. We have to accept that it is almost 100 per cent certain that the privileges committee will agree that he misled parliament.”

Johnson faces a potential suspension from parliament, Graham said, adding: “You cannot have a situation where a prime minister of the day is suspended from parliament, I don’t believe that would be credible, I think you would have to resign in that situation.”

Despite Graham’s reservations, Johnson had reached 28 public backers by 9.40am, but was trailing Sunak at 44. Penny Mordaunt had 16.

Sunak leads race to secure MPs’ backing

Rishi Sunak leaving home for work this morning. The former chancellor is one of the favourites to take over from Truss

BELINDA JIAO

The most unlikely leadership candidate from the summer’s race has thrown his support behind Rishi Sunak (Geraldine Scott writes).

Rehman Chishti failed to get a single nomination when he put himself forward last time. Now he says Sunak, the former chancellor, was “right on the economy”.

He joins a swathe of MPs coming out to publicly support Sunak overnight, including the ministers Robert Jenrick and Claire Coutinho and the backbenchers Guy Opperman, Siobhan Baillie, Angela Richardson and Robin Walker.

As of 8.30am, Sunak had 44 public backers, compared with 25 for Boris Johnson and 16 for Penny Mordaunt.

No candidates have formally launched their leadership campaigns yet, but allies have toured the broadcast studios touting their credentials.

John Lamont, a Scottish Tory MP backing Mordaunt, said she would “bring together the strongest government with the best and brightest talents from across the Conservative Party”.

Penny Mordaunt is currently third in the race to pick up the backing of MPs for the leadership

STEFAN ROUSSEAU/PA

Paul Bristow, the Peterborough MP who is backing Johnson, said the former prime minister would prevent the party being “completely wiped out” at the next election.

He told BBC Breakfast: “Boris Johnson has a mandate from the members of the party and from the electorate … we can avoid a general election, we can go out and put this band back together, we can have political heavyweights around that cabinet table and we can go on and win the next general election.”

Inquiry ‘could lead to Johnson being suspended from parliament’

The controversy which surrounds Boris Johnson is likely to cause him problems if he enters the Conservative leadership race (Geraldine Scott writes).

An investigation by the Commons privileges committee hangs over his head. The Sun has reported evidence handed over by Downing Street to that inquiry is enough to lead to Johnson being suspended from parliament.

James Johnson, a former Downing Street pollster, said Johnson was “toxic” and tainted in the eyes of voters. “He was and is the man who most voters view as a liar, described in focus group after focus group as the person who partied and misled while the country suffered,” he said.

The prospect of a Boris Johnson return is dividing the party

PETER BYRNE/PA

However, one Johnson supporter, Karl McCartney, the Tory MP for Lincoln, said people had told him they wanted Johnson back.

McCartney, who is on the executive of the 1922 Committee, told Today on BBC Radio 4: “I did not want him to resign in the first place. I think the Labour Party and some of the media did a credible hatchet job over six months and got rid of our best electoral asset.

“In the marginal seat of Lincoln, I know that my majority, which is the largest it has ever been after 2019, was because Boris Johnson was the prime minister and was the leader of our party that was the most credible person at the time to get the majority.”

Sir David Lidington, a former Cabinet Office minister under Theresa May, said Johnson “has had his chance” and that “competence” was needed in Downing Street.