Boris Johnson has refused to rule out making a political comeback once he is replaced in No 10 Downing Street by either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak.
The prime minister spoke to broadcasters earlier while promoting a gigabit broadband roll out in north Dorset.
“I think on the whole people in this country are more interested in their gigabit broadband than they are in the fate of this or that politician,” he said when asked about potential return.
Since Mr Johnson announced that he was resigning as Tory leader and PM there has been speculation that he could try to make a “Trump-style” return to the frontline.
Earlier, critics said Ms Truss’s plan to drill for more North Sea oil and gas “is not the answer” to the cost of living crisis.
The foreign secretary and favourite to replace Mr Johnson is reportedly poised to approve a series of drilling licences if she enters No 10 Downing Street next week.
Johnson urges Britons to have ‘hope and perspective’ during ‘tough’ months ahead
Britons faced with an 80 per cent increase in the energy price cap face tough times ahead but should have a sense of “hope and perspective”, Boris Johnson said.
The outgoing prime minister said a “huge amount” of help for households had already been promised and his successor – either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak – would provide further support.
Mr Johnson highlighted the announcements already made which will see £1,200 going to the eight million most vulnerable households.
But he added: “Whichever of the two candidates gets in next week, what the government is also going to do is provide a further package of support for helping people with the cost of energy.
“What we’ve got to do is get through the tough months – and I’m not going to shrink from this, it is going to be tough in the months to come, it’s going to be tough through to next year.”
Broadband roll out will deliver ‘prosperity and growth for decades to come’
Boris Johnson said the “driving out” of gigabit broadband across the countryside “will deliver the basic fundamentals for prosperity and growth for decades to come”.
He said: “What we’re looking at here is the effort of companies up and down the country, but particularly here is North Dorset where what they’re doing is putting in gigabit broadband at an incredible pace and they’re doing it with government support.”
He added: “When I first became prime minister only 7 per cent of the premises in this country had gigabit broadband, that’s now up to 70 per cent. If you put it into remote rural communities what you’re going to do is level up.
“If you give people opportunities they wouldn’t have had…the ability to connect in a way that was completely unimaginable and that enables businesses to thrive and prosper in remote areas. It means people can stay where they grew up, they don’t have to go to live in towns or cities and it is absolutely transformational.”
He added: “What we’re seeing now is the driving out of gigabit communications across the countryside and that will deliver the basic fundamentals for prosperity and growth for decades to come.”
Johnson refuses to rule out return to frontline politics
Boris Johnson refused to rule out a political comeback as he faced his final few days in No 10.
On a visit to Dorset he refused to be drawn on his plans after he is replaced as prime minister by Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak next week.
Asked if he would rule out a comeback, he told reporters: “I think on the whole people in this country are more interested in their gigabit broadband than they are in the fate of this or that politician.”
Mr Johnson’s demise was ultimately triggered by the row after former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher’s was accused of inappropriate behaviour.
Asked if he had regrets about the way allegations of misconduct had been dealt with, Mr Johnson said: “All those things have to be handled carefully and sensitively and we have processes for dealing with them, and people who have complaints should raise them in the normal way.”
Boris Johnson-backing Tory donor will pull funds unless ‘corrupt’ leadership rules change
A major donor to the Conservatives has threatened to pull funding unless the party overhauls its leadership rules – calling the process “corrupt”.
Peter Cruddas, a leading Boris Johnson ally who had pushed for him to be on the ballot this summer, called for major changes to stop future Tory prime ministers being removed in the same way.
Our politics correspondent Adam Forrest reports:
Boris Johnson-backing Tory donor will pull funds unless ‘corrupt’ rules change
Peter Cruddas wants 1922 Committee stripped of powers and Tory members get more say
Andy Burnham clashes with Keir Starmer over Labour picket line policy
Andy Burnham has criticised Labour leader Keir Starmer’s policy of discouraging party frontbenchers from joining striking workers at picket lines.
The Labour mayor of Greater Manchester said he would join Mick Lynch – leader of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) – on a picket line.
Our politics correspondent Adam Forrest reports:
Andy Burnham clashes with Keir Starmer over picket line policy
Labour mayor says he would consider running for leader ‘one day’
Labour lead reduced to 8 per cent – poll
Labour’s leader over the Conservatives has been reduced to 8 per cent, according to a poll.
YouGov’s latest survey has the governing party on 31 per cent, with Labour on 39 per cent.
The Lib Dems aee Greens are unchanged on 11 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.
I have three friends working in very different jobs – but their experiences summarise the state of the nation
‘It’s going so much worse than you think!’ is seemingly our national motto at the moment, writes Marie Le Conte.
Read Marie’s full piece here:
Three friends in different jobs – the state of the nation laid bare | Marie Le Conte
‘It’s going so much worse than you think!’ is seemingly our national motto at the moment, writes Marie Le Conte
The government should go further than it thinks in helping with energy bills
Former chancellor Alistair Darling has some advice from the 2008 financial crisis that may prove useful, writes Chris Stevenson
Read Chris’s full piece below:
Analysis: The government should go further than it thinks with energy bill help
Former chancellor Alistair Darling has some advice from the 2008 financial crisis that may prove useful, writes Chris Stevenson
Liz Truss’s energy plans will be disastrous for our bills and the planet
Truss will oversee the greatest transfer of wealth in history, from UK families to oil and gas executives she used to work for, writes Donnachadh McCarthy
Read Donnachadh’s full piece here:
Opinion: Liz Truss’s energy plans will be disastrous for our bills and the planet
Truss will oversee the greatest transfer of wealth in history, from UK families to oil and gas executives she used to work for, writes Donnachadh McCarthy
Birmingham will provide ‘warm banks’
Birmingham has become the latest council announcing measures to provide or highlight so-called “warm banks” – by pledging to “map out spaces across the city where people can go to keep warm”, Adam Forrest, our politics correspondent, reports.
Councillor John Cotton, cabinet member at the Labour-run local authority, said: “Whether that’s local community centres, places of worship or libraries, we want to help people to find places where they will be welcomed, free of charge.”
He added: “It should not be the case that people cannot afford to keep their homes warm, but that is the reality that we are facing here in Birmingham.”
