A mid-August poll by Opinium found that more than 60% of activists said they would “ideally” prefer Johnson to candidates Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak.
In another YouGov study for Sky News, also this month, Johnson scored 46% of likes, almost the same as Truss (24%) or Sunak (23%) combined, while 55% of respondents were against his departure.
And this is despite the fact that the party itself, having resigned more than 50 members of the government, forced the leader of the conservatives to resign after a series of scandals and doubts about the honesty of the head of the executive branch.
Last Tuesday, under pressure from journalists during a visit to promote broadband Internet access in the country’s rural areas about whether to refuse to run again for prime minister, Johnson did not compromise.
“I think that most people in this country are more interested in their high-speed Internet connection than in the fate of this or that politician,” he replied.
The campaign, led by millionaire and member of the House of Lords Peter Cruddas, has garnered almost 9,000 signatures so militants can overturn Boris Johnson’s resignation.
Johnson himself was ambiguous when he said goodbye to MPs with “hasta la vista, baby” in July. [até à próxima]famous phrase from the movie “Terminator 2”.
In another famous scene from the film, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character also announced that he would be returning. [“I’ll be back”]but Johnson did not repeat the line.
“I think there is a clear possibility” that Johnson will return, Conservative Lord Jonathan Marland told the BBC, foreseeing a scenario in which the party, after losing the legislative election, will look for “a leader who wins the election, But Boris has.
Former colleague Rory Stewart, who has since become a bitter rival, suggests that Johnson may have followed the lead of Italian Silvio Berlusconi or Pakistani Imran Khan, both of whom fell out of favor but publicly declared their desire to return to active duty.
“He will be walking around waiting for the return of the populists,” Stewart told The Guardian.
Former The Sun political editor Trevor Kavanagh warned that Johnson’s return to power “would be a disaster for the Conservative Party, for the country and for Boris himself.”
Despite admiration among the Tories, “Bojo” as he is known, divides opinions, and many Britons do not forget the many mistakes made, namely the “Partygate” scandal with illegal parties on Downing Street during the covid-19 pandemic.
To remain available, the current prime minister must remain in parliament as an MP, as Theresa May did in 2019.
But a parliamentary inquiry into whether MPs were lied to about Downing Street parties during the pandemic could lead to removal and loss of office.
In modern British history, only two prime ministers have returned to power for a second time, Conservative Winston Churchill and Labor Harold Wilson, but both have remained leaders of their respective parties and opposition between two terms.
Boris Johnson is expected to tender his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday, in what will be the first time in his 70-year reign at Balmoral Castle in the north of Scotland rather than Buckingham Palace in London.
Johnson’s successor and 15th head of government under Elizabeth II will also be received in Scotland on Tuesday by the monarch, who will then have to appoint a new prime minister (or prime minister) to form a new government. party leader with a parliamentary majority.