Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson informed the Conservative Party about his willingness to run in the next House of Commons election from his constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip – unofficial sources report.
After Liz-Truss’ short-lived premiership, Johnson even considered running for the party leadership again, which would mean returning to 10 Downing Street if he won, before changing his mind because of what he described as bad timing. It goes without saying that a comeback from “BoJo” would represent quite a sensation on Britain’s political scene.
Throughout his political career, Johnson never hid his sympathy for Poland and the Polish nation. “If we look at the history of London in the last 20, 30 years, it must be said that the Polish contribution is enormous, absolutely, in all areas. And I think the British generally accept that” – he told the press in August 2014 when serving as Mayor of London.
When asked about the historical bonds between both nations, he noted that Brits have a poor knowledge of Poland’s input in fighting Nazi German totalitarianism shoulder to shoulder with Britain during WWII.
“If I went out on the streets of London today and asked people if they knew that one in seven enemy planes shot down during the Battle of Britain was hit by a Polish pilot, they probably wouldn’t know about it”, – he assumed.
Five years later, while the world was commemorating the 80th anniversary of the start of WWII, the then-British PM addressed the Polish nation in a grateful tone in a short video for the occasion.
He praised Polish pilots’ „fierce and invincible resistance” in key battles of WWII. „Every time I fly out of the Royal Air Force (RAF) base at Northolt […] I remember the Polish pilots who took off from the same runway to defend the British sky in 1940,” – he assured. He even reminded that Polish pilots from the legendary 303 Squadron recorded more kills during the Battle of Britain than any other RAF unit.
The following year, Boris Johnson referred to Poles in a speech on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII. Once again, the then-head of government displayed his admiration for the Polish nation.
“Through all these struggles, Britain and Poland stood together. Today, we rejoice that after the tragedies of the 20th Century, after the determined efforts to wipe her from the map, Poland is a thriving nation in the heart of Europe. Britain is proud to work alongside Poland in every field,” – he stressed.
He continued by explaining that the greatest manifestation of the friendship between both countries is the presence of one million Poles in the UK. “I cannot list all of their manifold contributions to our national life […] We can hardly imagine the UK without the presence of Poles”, – he concluded.
https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1512151095241494528?s=20&t=ZIDA773aXR_IxvQZ3pE9ig
More recently, Boris Johnson saluted Poland’s stance toward its Ukrainian war-torn neighbour. Following a meeting he held at 10 Downing Street, he published a short message on Twitter reading: “I salute the Polish people for all they are doing to support Ukraine. The UK stands with you and shares your determination to help Ukraine diplomatically, politically, economically and militarily.”
Johnson’s positive view of Poland translated into his policy toward Warsaw. This could especially be observed after Russia attacked Ukraine in late February 2022. The UK quickly became one of Warsaw’s key allies in coordinating help for Ukrainian refugees by tightening military cooperation in the NATO framework and pushing for a firm stance of the West toward the Kremlin.
Image: Sky News (screenshot)
Author: Sébastien Meuwissen
