Bet a fiver on Boris Johnson making a comeback, maybe even before the next election
BORIS – it is a new chapter in his political life, not a conclusion.
Some of the articles and tweets yesterday felt a bit like obituaries.
On my morning run a few people stopped me to pass on sympathies.
An MP who is a close friend messaged to say: “Thinking about you in this difficult time.”
Calm down, folks.
The boss is not dead!
Boris has stepped away from a House of Commons out to string him up.
An unholy coalition of hard-nosed Labour partisans and slighted Conservatives who never shone under Boris.
Labour want him off the pitch because they know he is an election winner.
This, combined with people loyal to others, or their own futures, led to an inevitable toxic desire to kick Boris in the balls and out of the House of Commons.
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Politics is in his blood
He has walked off the pitch rather than being red carded by a Sunday league ref.
This is the conclusion of a chapter, not the end of the book.
We will hear more about Boris over the coming days, months and years.
Boris leaves the House of Commons, so what?
He was an international statesman, a leader, a thinker, a doer, not a debater.
He was never a backwoods-man, a House of Commons man.
He was always more comfortable with the country than a group of MPs.
Last Friday’s announcement changes none of the fundamentals.
Operation Boris goes on, just from his office, a stone’s throw from the House of Commons, instead of the rather smaller, shabbier one he got as an MP.
His excellent team remain loyal, many of whom are joyful at their appearance on the resignation honours list, reluctant to celebrate as Boris leaves the House again.
He has done this before, left the House for another job and came back.
He left to be Mayor of London last time.
I rather suspect that David Cameron and George Osborne thought he would never return and were happy with that scenario.
Rishi Sunak probably hopes the same this time around.
He has not left politics and he will be back in the Commons. Why?
It is in his blood.
He is not interested in the million-dollar speaking circuit — money is just something that is needed to fund the political career.
Most local associations would love to have him as their MP.
I suspect his WhatsApp is full of tentative offers.
He has always been a titan in the Conservative Party and the addition of the magic initials “MP”, which my profession covets, adds or distracts little from brand Boris Johnson.
Now and again people who wielded the knife sidle up to me and say: “Maybe we would have been better off sticking with him”.
It is all I can do not to throttle them.
We had a vote-winning, inspirational leader and we threw it away.
Can you imagine a corporate CEO being so cavalier with their top salesman or their most profitable product?
A huge mistake
Losing Boris from the Parliamentary team is a huge mistake.
Was Boris perfect?
No. Who is?
But we needed him during Covid, leading the coalition to back President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, and without him Brexit would not have happened and the Conservative Party would still have been divided on the European issue.
We need more people like Boris Johnson, not fewer.
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My tip, head to Ladbrokes and put a fiver on him coming back, maybe even before the next election.
The wilderness months, not years, would be a good title for the chapter of the next period in his life.