Desperate Tories are turning to Boris Johnson to save themselves from the threat of Nigel Farage’s Reform Party.
Tens of thousands of letters signed by the disgraced ex-Prime Minister are due to be delivered to voters this week as the party scrambles to revive its disastrous campaign. Despite the Partygate scandal – which has been raised during the election TV debates – it was reported Mr Johnson’s letters will be sent out later this week begging wavering voters not to back Reform UK.
The former Tory leader has also been providing personal video endorsements for Conservative candidates terrified of losing their seats next month. It follows a bombshell poll last week that showed the right-wing party led by ex-Ukip leader Nigel Farage leapfrogging the Tories for the first time.
Keir Starmer derided the move, telling LBC: “For heaven’s sake what is this the third or fourth relaunch of their strategy in three weeks? Honestly, if you can’t even have a strategy that holds for six weeks, you really don’t deserve to win.”
Tory Minister, Mark Spencer, was forced to insist Rishi Sunak is moving the Tories forward – not Mr Johnson. Asked whether the ex-PM was the Tories’ “antidote” to Reform UK, he replied today: “Boris was a fantastic prime minister, certainly in delivering what he did for the Covid vaccine, in making sure that he put us front and centre in the fight for Ukraine. They were huge achievements of the Johnson campaign.
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“Boris is no longer a Member of Parliament. He has stepped back from politics and I think now we have got a Prime Minister in Rishi Sunak who has steadied the ship, who is moving us forward. I think let’s just concentrate on the huge tax challenge that is coming from a future Labour government.”
Mr Johnson, who was ousted by his own MPs in 2022, has stayed away from the campaign trail apart from some social media clips to support his pals. The ex-PM, who is believed to be on holiday with his family, has had a fraught relationship with Rishi Sunak, who some Johnson allies blame for his downfall.
Last week during a primetime election debate, an ex-Tory chair called Amy confronted Rishi Sunak over his Partygate rule-breaking during Covid. The woman, who described herself as a “lifelong true blue”, said “trust broke down” when Queen Elizabeth attended the funeral of Prince Philip alone – as Tories partied in Downing Street while Mr Johnson was in charge.