Despite growing support for Boris Johnson’s return as conservative leader the former PM remains a deeply divisive and dishonest figure (Picture: PA / SWNS / Getty)
Boris Johnson is widely expected to stand again as Conservative Party leader following Liz Truss’s resignation after just 44 days.
The former prime minister, who only left office six weeks ago, is reportedly taking soundings from friends and believes running again is in the ‘national interest’.
A snap poll of Tory members earlier this week saw Boris Johnson emerge as their top choice of successor, followed by Rishi Sunak.
But despite retaining key allies in parliament, he continues to remain deeply unpopular among some colleagues, with 148 Tory MPs voting no confidence in his leadership shortly before his departure in June.
With support for Johnson’s return said to be quietly growing, it’s worth remembering just why exactly he was ousted in the first place.
Even among other Tory leaders, Johnson’s premiership was marked by widespread corruption and dishonesty right from the start.
During the early days of his leadership he was accused of treason when he prorogued parliament for five weeks and was found guilty of lying to the Queen in order to push his Brexit deal through parliament- a decision the Supreme Court later deemed was ‘unlawful.’
Boris Johnson was found to have acted unlawfully by The Supreme Court after he prorogued parliament and lied to the Queen in 2019 (Picture: EPA)
Johnson skipped Covid-19 security briefings and claimed he would rather ‘let the bodies pile high’ than implement lockdown procedures during the pandemic (Picture: AFP)
Shortly thereafter, the PM was accused of skipping vital Cobra security briefings during the early days of the pandemic, and was later caught bragging that he would rather ‘let the bodies pile high’ before taking any further action to reduce the spread of Covid-19.
Elsewhere during the lockdown, Johnson became the first Prime Minister in British history to have broken the law while in office after reports emerged of parties taking place at No.10, in flagrant violation of social distancing policies in place at the time.
To make matters worse, he went on to repeatedly insist all rules were followed and the gatherings were ‘work events’.
Relevant to today’s events, the Privileges Committee Inquiry into ‘Partygate’ is still ongoing, and depending on the outcome Boris Johnson could still end up losing his seat in Uxbridge and Ruislip via a recall procedure and a constituency referendum.
Following the Partygate scandal Johnson ended up surviving a confidence vote by a margin of 211-148, yet the damage to his public standing had been done.
During the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in February, Johnson and his wife Carrie were loudly booed by members of the public, a sign that voters were beginning to tire of the endless scandal and corruption which has marked his premiership.
Boris Johnson also lied abut holding parties in Downing Street and ignoring social distancing rules when the rest of the country was in lockdown (Picture: PA)
Chris Pincher’s sexual assault allegations ultimately brought the PM down after more than 50 ministers resigned in disgrace (Picture: PA)
Johnson’s infamous claim that the UK sends the EU ‘£350 million a week’ during the Brexit referendum was widely debunked (Picture: PA Images)
The final nail in the coffin came in June, when it was made aware the PM knew of sexual assault allegations against MP Chris Pincher before he promoted him to deputy chief whip.
The scandal prompted the mass resignation of over 50 government ministers in under 48 hours, the most in British political history, and Johnson was left with no option but to step down.
Following news of Ms Truss’s resignation earlier today, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has urged Tories to ban Johnson from standing for leadership again.
‘The fact that Conservative MPs are even considering putting Boris Johnson back in Number 10 shows how out of touch they really are. They think there’s one rule for them and another for everyone else,’ he said in a joint statement with Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper.
‘Boris Johnson was forced to resign in disgrace after countless lies, scandals and failures. He shattered public trust in the government and plunged the UK into a political crisis. He must never be allowed near Downing Street again.’
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Boris Johnson has announced his intent to stand for the Tory leadership for a second time, just six weeks after he was ousted from the role.