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By Anna Malpas and Jitendra Joshi<\/p>\n
London, United Kingdom \u2013 Britain\u2019s divisive former leader Boris Johnson on Friday received heavyweight Conservative backing to stage a sensational comeback following the resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss.<\/p>\n
The UK\u2019s ruling party was forced into its second leadership contest in quick succession after Truss announced she was quitting after just 44 tempestuous days in office.<\/p>\n
A poll by YouGov found 79 percent of British people thought she was right to resign, with 64 percent calling her a \u201cterrible\u201d prime minister.<\/p>\n
The pollster also found that three in five voters want an early general election, in line with the angry clamour coming from opposition parties as Britons struggle with a worsening cost-of-living crisis.<\/p>\n
Labour and other parties say only an election can end the months of political chaos, sparked when Johnson was himself forced out in July after non-stop personal and political scandal.<\/p>\n
In the resultant contest, Truss won the support of just over 80,000 Tory party members, defeating Rishi Sunak, who correctly warned that her hard-right programme of debt-fuelled tax cuts would crash the economy.<\/p>\n
Now with a new vacancy suddenly opening up in 10 Downing Street, the former finance minister has emerged as favourite in the betting markets and media straw polls of Conservative MPs.<\/p>\n
But Johnson was reportedly cutting short a Caribbean holiday to take part in the accelerated contest, which will see Tory MPs hold a vote on Monday before a possible online ballot for the members next week.<\/p>\n
Serious times<\/strong><\/p>\n Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg, an arch Johnson loyalist, became the first minister to publicly back him, tweeting: \u201cOnly Boris can win the next election.\u201d<\/p>\n Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, a favourite of the Tory grassroots, told Sky News he was not standing himself and said: \u201cAt the moment, I\u2019m leaning towards Boris Johnson.\u201d<\/p>\n Wallace noted that Johnson was the only potential leader with UK-wide electoral legitimacy, having won a thumping victory for the Tories over Labour in 2019.<\/p>\n But the minister added that Johnson still had \u201csome questions to answer\u201d over the multiple scandals, which resulted in a yet-to-launch investigation in the House of Commons.<\/p>\n If found guilty of lying to the Commons over the \u201cPartygate\u201d scandal \u2013 lockdown-breaching revels held in Downing Street \u2013 Johnson could be suspended or even expelled from parliament.<\/p>\n Thanks to such controversies, Johnson left Number 10 with dismal poll ratings. One poll found that the word most commonly associated with him for voters was \u201cliar\u201d.<\/p>\n Other Tories were aghast at the prospect of his comeback. Veteran backbencher Roger Gale warned that Johnson could face a wave of resignations from MPs refusing to serve under him as leader.<\/p>\n Crispin Blunt MP told the BBC that Johnson was a \u201cfantastic communicator\u201d but Sunak was \u201ca much more serious personality\u201d who could impart a \u201cserious message\u201d to the country.<\/p>\n \u2018Soap opera\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n So far there are no formal contenders, but the contest is widely expected to be a three-horse race between Sunak, Johnson and senior cabinet member Penny Mordaunt.<\/p>\n Contenders have until 2:00 pm (1300 GMT) on Monday to produce a minimum 100 nominations from their fellow Tory MPs.<\/p>\n That means a maximum of three candidates will emerge from among the 357 Conservatives in the House of Commons.<\/p>\n If necessary, they will vote to leave two candidates standing, and hold another \u201cindicative\u201d vote to tell the party membership their preferred option.<\/p>\n If no single candidate emerges, the rank-and-file will then have their say in an online ballot and the result will be announced next Friday.<\/p>\n Political website Guido Fawkes, which is running a rolling spreadsheet of Tory MPs\u2019 declared support, had Sunak on 64, Johnson on 59 and Mordaunt on 20 by Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n Other candidates could include a representative of the party\u2019s right such as Suella Braverman, whose resignation as interior minister helped trigger Truss\u2019s downfall.<\/p>\n Braverman told the BBC she would be making a statement later on Friday.<\/p>\n But the leader of the main opposition Labour party, Keir Starmer, said Britain \u201ccannot have another experiment\u201d after Truss\u2019s disastrous tenure.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not just a soap opera at the top of the Tory party \u2013 it\u2019s doing huge damage to the reputation of our country,\u201d he said. Labour are streaming ahead in the polls.<\/p>\n