The Tories are paving the way for Boris Johnson’s return

Britain is facing a crisis, and I’m not talking about the election.

No, I’m talking about something significant happening beneath the surface. While the polls indicate a clear frontrunner for 4 July, the political landscape is shifting, and it’s not just Nigel Farage on the right who stands to gain.

At this rate, it’s not impossible that the Conservatives will collapse behind both the Liberal Democrats in seat numbers and Reform UK in the popular vote.

While the former would be amusing, the stage is being set for something neither funny nor implausible: The return of the most self-centred, dishonest and scurrilous politician our country has ever seen.

Echoing an equally depressing scenario across the Atlantic, Boris Johnson — also a law-breaker lest we forget — is poised to capitalise on the political turmoil, reshaping the right-wing populist narrative and challenging every value our country is built upon.

According to The Telegraph, thousands of letters signed by Johnson, urging people to vote Conservative, are apparently due to be delivered to voters later this week.

This is Boris reminding the Tory faithful he is still a team player, when the reality is he rolling the pitch, ready for him to be elevated into leadership once catastrophe strikes them on 4 July.

When, on the morning of 5 July, the Conservative Party finds itself destroyed and decimated, the real battle will begin.

The ignition of the struggle for dominance on the right risks plunging our country into an unprecedented ideological and identity crisis. Some may even call it a battle for the soul of our country.

Nigel Farage – regardless of his own electoral result – will sense opportunity and intensify his efforts, appealing to those with strong stances on immigration, cultural issues, and tax cuts.

Having just suffered what could be the worst bruising in electoral history, the Conservatives will be closer than ever to an existential crisis, spearheaded by Starmer’s pragmatic approach, Farage’s direct criticisms, and Ed Davey’s strategic manoeuvres.

Historically, the Conservative Party is the most successful democratic party, existing solely to hold power. Despite infighting among those who retain their seats, the party’s survival instincts will turn towards Boris Johnson, credited with saving them from Farage in 2019. 

Always the self-aggrandiser, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson will argue that he is the only one who can save them again. And our broken electoral system will comply.

All it requires is one MP to fall on their sword, trigger a by-election and a tired, low-turnout electorate to wave him through.

Of course, voters in that seat could refuse Johnson’s return in what would be one of the most amusing outcomes in political history. But assuming the Conservatives will place him in their safest seat, there is nothing stopping him.

Although he remains active – supporting select Tory candidates and maintaining his relevance through newspaper columns, even questioning the legitimacy of Donald Trump’s convictions – Johnson has distanced himself enough from the current disastrous Tory campaign to avoid blame.

In fact, the stage is being perfectly set for Johnson. The ‘Red Wall’ is now becoming so formidable that it rivals the Great Wall of China in visibility from space, and the Conservatives need a populist to counter Farage.

Johnson’s fingerprints may be all over other controversies, but they are remarkably absent from this one.

Johnson positioning himself for a comeback is no accident. It would appear that he believes enough time has passed for his return to be welcomed.

Whether voters will forgive his past behaviour and law breaking remains to be seen. Still, Johnson is confident in overcoming scandals and reclaiming his God-given right to be ‘world king’. ‘Cometh the hour, cometh the man’, etc.

A showdown between Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage for control of British politics’s right wing would be monumental — a Godzilla vs King Kong clash of British populists. But like most Kaiju films, the public will suffer the inevitable destruction as both sides appeal to their bases with increasingly populist rhetoric that only brings out the worst in us.

On 5 July, after their celebrations, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Greens must immediately prepare for populism on steroids. Johnsons and the reactionary right returning can’t be ignored and can’t be met with uninspiring soundbites.

We must support a liberal, evidence-based, progressive alternative. Reluctantly supporting Starmer as a ‘lesser of two evils’ or trying to compete with the right’s populism risks our own long-term extinction.

The solution is a long-term, compelling, and evidence-based alternative that locks Johnson and the Conservatives out of power by delivering sustainable, sensible change for the Great British public.

As Boris finally exited Parliament, he channelled Arnold Schwarzenegger, sneering, ‘Hasta la vista, baby’. As he turned his back on an unprecedented record of lying, cover ups and scandal, the more fitting quote for his ambitions would have been, ‘I’ll be back’.

The Conservatives are now set to rehabilitate their antihero. But that’s not who we are. We should be immensely proud that our country and our Parliament are synonymous with democracy, progress, and hope around the world.

But, in a world where our neighbours face invasion and a 34-time convicted felon seeks the White House, we forfeit all moral and political superiority if we even entertain the return of a leader who breaks the law, deceives Parliament, lies to our country, and exploits public office to maintain relevance and satisfy his ego.

Labour, Liberal Democrats and Greens are looking forward to this election, but on 5 July, they face their biggest battle yet: Blocking the return of Boris Johnson.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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