‘Return of Boris Johnson’ Former PM tipped for Downing Street return over Liz Truss chaos

Boris Johnson ‘should come back as Prime Minister’ says panelist

Boris Johnson stood down as Prime Minister in September, but months before that he survived a vote of no confidence from Conservative MPs. Cabinet resignations eventually forced Mr Johnson to leave office when his close allies such as Rishi Sunak quit the Government and forced him to announce his own resignation.

However, the former Prime Minister has remained an MP and is considered a frontrunner to be the next leader after Liz Truss announced her resignation outside Downing Street today.

Where is Boris Johnson now?

Since leaving Downing Street, Mr Johnson has remained in the House of Commons as a backbench MP, similar to Theresa May.

Former Prime Ministers do not normally play a huge part in future Governments, as a way of distancing themselves from the decisions made by their successors.

But Mr Johnson remains active in Parliament and has a vote on all of the key matters debated. The fact that he decided to remain in politics suggests that he may still feel he can contribute at the highest level of Government again.

The former Prime Minister also remains a popular figure internationally, having built strong relations with several world leaders including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Currently, Mr Johnson is on holiday in the Caribbean according to former No10 aide Andrew Gilligan, who told LBC: “I think he’s probably enjoying himself quite a lot.” He added the former PM would likely be looking at the polls “with interest” while on holiday but said he was unlikely to want to go “anywhere near” Downing Street right now.

Boris Johnson: Is the former PM about to return to power in Downing street? (Image: Getty)

Liz Truss: The Prime Minister is facing calls to resign from Tory MPs (Image: Getty)

Would Tory members and MPs support Boris?

Tory MP Nadine Dorries believes that Mr Johnson is the natural candidate to unite the Conservaitve Party right now.

Ms Dorries called today for MPs to “demand the return of Boris Johnson”, or face a general election and the prospect of losing to Labour. She added: “It is inconceivable that we could continue to face the world parading the notion that we are a democracy.”

Among Conservative members and supporters, the former Prime Minister appears a popular choice to replace Liz Truss, with more than 10,000 signing a petition to bring him back.

He is also ranked as the most popular Conservative politician in a survey by YouGov, ahead of rivals such as Mr Sunak and former Tory leadership contest Penny Mordaunt.

Is Boris likely to become the next Prime Minister?

Mr Johnson is 10/1 to re-enter Downing Street for a second stint as Prime Minister according to bookmaker Ladbrokes, despite the fact that he has not declared he intends to run to be the next Tory leader.

With Betfair, Mr Johnson is now 13/1 to replace Ms Truss, with the current Prime Minister’s odds of leaving office this year slashed from to 2/11, from 1/2 on Wednesday.

In a recent debate with Express.co.uk readers, more than 500 people commented on an article about bringing Mr Johnson back, with many in favour of the idea.

If Mr Johnson did announce his intention to become the Tory party leader again, he is likely to be a popular choice and has a real chance of becoming Britain’s next Prime Minister.