BORIS Johnson was on course to pull off the biggest comeback in political history last night.
The former PM whipped up support for a second stint in Number 10 as MPs rallied behind his bid to reclaim the Tory crown.
He cut short a family holiday in the Caribbean amid mounting expectation that he will enter the leadership race.
Within four hours of his BA plane touching down at Gatwick, allies claimed to have gathered the support of 100 MPs – enough to get his name on the final ballot.
He must then see off rival Rishi Sunak to be back in Downing Street within days. Last night, ex-culture secretary Nadine Dorries gleefully declared: “The boss is back. The one person Labour fear most is Boris Johnson.”
Former home secretary Priti Patel joined the BoJo bandwagon and added: “We need Boris to return as our Prime Minister.”
Mr Johnson is expected to throw his hat into the ring before tomorrow’s 2pm deadline for nominations.
If he has passed the 100-name threshold, he is almost certain to enter the ballot of 180,000 Conservative members who will decide on their next leader. He is so popular at grassroots level he is highly likely to win in a head-to-head with Mr Sunak, who the same people rejected for Liz Truss in August.
It means Mr Johnson could make a jubilant return to Downing Street by Friday – just 52 days after he was kicked out of office by the parliamentary party.
And the former prime minister was set to begin talks with his rival candidates Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, in a bid to form a “dream team” pact which would allow him to be declared leader as soon as Monday.
This story is from the October 23, 2022 edition of Sunday Express.
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This story is from the October 23, 2022 edition of Sunday Express.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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