Liz Truss resigns as PM after just 45 days in Downing Street
Boris Johnson could formally enter the race to replace Liz Truss in Downing Street, with a campaign source reportedly claiming he has secured the necessary backing of 100 Tory MPs.
The number to have publicly declared support for the disgraced former prime minister is roughly half of that, however, and he trails significantly behind the more than 110 openly supporting his former chancellor Rishi Sunak – who is also yet to officially stand in the quick-fire leadership contest.
Mr Johnson’s hopes for a dramatic return to No 10 – after flying back overnight from a Caribbean holiday on Saturday – were dealt a further blow, as leading Brexiteer Lord David Frost backed Mr Sunak and warned the Conservative Party must “move on” or “risk repeating the chaos and confusion of the last year”.
His former deputy Dominic Raab, who is among those backing Mr Sunak, warned that electing Mr Johnson would plunge the government back into “the Groundhog Day … the soap opera, of Partygate” – given that he faces a parliamentary inquiry over the scandal.
Stanley Johnson claims Boris will enter race for No 10 and beat Rishi Sunak
Stanley Johnson has predicted that his son Boris will put his name forward and beat Rishi Sunak in a head-to-head contest.
Speaking to GB News, Stanley said: “I think he will put his name forward, and I think he will beat Rishi Sunak in a head-to-head.
“And I want to say, and I’m now going to reveal this for the first time, when I get my vote, my electronic password, I will be voting for Boris because I think he will do the things I care about – Europe, environment, peace in our time, and net-zero.”
Breaking: Boris Johnson hits 100 nominations needed to stand for PM, sources say
Boris Johnson has hit the threshold of 100 Tory MPs’ nominations needed to stand in the contest for No 10, sources in his campaign have told reporters.
However, public endorsements of Mr Johnson remain well short of the crucial 100 figure, with just 58 Conservative MPs having put their names behind his bid by Saturday afternoon.
Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has more:
Which ministers are supporting Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak?
Both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak now enjoy the support of numerous ministers.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, Simon Clarke, Alok Sharma, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Chris Heaton-Harris and potentially Ben Wallace are all believed to be backing the former prime minister.
So far, Chris Philp and Tom Tugendhat are the only current ministers to come out to bat for Mr Sunak, however he counts a number of big-hitting former ministers among the 115 or so Tory MPs backing him, including Dominic Raab, Lord Frost and Sajid Javid.
Boris Johnson ‘would not’ seek to abolish Partygate inquiry
Shortly after reporting that it was “the plan” for Boris Johnson to seek to axe the Partygate inquiry facing him if Tory MPs choose to bring him back to No 10, the Daily Telegraph’s Christopher Hope now reports “a source close to” the ex-PM as insisting that this is not the case.
Boris Johnson ‘keen to make peace with Michael Gove’
Boris Johnson is keen to make peace with Rishi Sunak and Michael Gove and would seek to form a “big tent” government with the “best talent” from across the Tory party, his allies are quoted as saying today.
“He knows that if he is to have any chance at all then he needs to bury the hatchet in the ground not in the backs of old enemies,” one source told The Times, with another saying that – despite sacking him in July – Mr Johnson believes Mr Gove to have been “the most effective minister” in his government.
“A lot of their falling-out was due to the time and manner of Boris’s departure,” they told the paper. “He was angry with Michael telling him it was over – but he also knows he needs the most capable people around him if he’s going to have any chance at all of turning things around.”
The source said that Mr Johnson “cannot govern without” Mr Sunak because “the markets would destroy him”, adding: “If he’s installed in Downing Street by the ERG headbangers who have spent the last five weeks trashing the brand, then it’s over. There will be an election, we will be annihilated and we will totally deserve it.”
Claim of a ‘plan’ for Boris Johnson to upend Partygate inquiry ‘if he wins’ race
There is a “plan” for Boris Johnson to seek to end the Partygate inquiry looming over him if he returns to Downing Street, according to the Daily Telegraph’s Christopher Hope.
Referring to the two options Labour’s Chris Bryant told the BBC earlier that Mr Johnson would have to try and shut down the investigation into his remarks to MPs – the first being a whole Commons vote overturning the original motion for an inquiry – Mr Hope suggested that this is “the plan” but only “if he wins” the race.
Boris Johnson ‘needs to win a quarter’ of remaining backers for place on ballot
Boris Johnson needs the support of a quarter of the 115 remaining Tory backers up for grabs if he is to pass the threshold for nomination, according to our chief political commentator John Rentoul.
If he can indeed rely on the 16 anonymous backers included in the list compiled by the Guido Fawkes website, the ex-prime minister will need the support of 29 more to reach the necessary number.
Times Radio host Matt Chorley calculates that Rishi Sunak currently has 60 per cent of the public declarations so far, leading Mr Johnson on 28 per cent and Penny Mordaunt on 12.
Desmond Swayne backs Rishi Sunak in another blow to Boris Johnson
In a surprise move – and indication of the uphill battle potentially facing Boris Johnson – Sir Desmond Swayne, the reported ERG member who backed Kemi Badenoch and Suella Braverman several months ago, appears to have endorsed Rishi Sunak.
Opinion | A general election would bring down Britain’s ‘idiot premium’
In his latest column, our chief business columnist James Moore suggests that, if Rishi Sunak “walks into Downing Street, there is a good chance that the idiot premium the investors demand to lend to the government falls, reducing Britain’s borrowing costs”.
While there would inevitably be a certain amount of short-term instability created by the calling of a general election, for which there is now a clear democratic imperative, the nation’s longer-term economic interests would be well served, he writes, adding:
“A new government with a fresh mandate to tackle the grave challenges the nation faces would be better placed to bring the idiot premium down and deliver the dullness dividend. Trouble is, the idiots still have a majority in parliament.”
Read his analysis in full here:
Patel backs Johnson on basis of his ‘proven track record’
Priti Patel said she was backing Boris Johnson to return to No 10 because he had a “proven track record”.
A video posted on the Conservative MP for Witham’s Twitter showed an image of Ms Patel accompanied by the words “Priti Backs Boris”.
A quote also featured in the clip reads: “Boris has the mandate to deliver our elected manifesto and a proven track record getting the big decisions right.
“I’m backing him in the leadership contest.”
Alongside the video, Ms Patel tweeted: “I’m backing BorisJohnson to return as our prime minister, to bring together a united team to deliver our manifesto and lead Britain to a stronger and more prosperous future.”
