After Liz-Truss’ short-lived premiership, Boris Johnson 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. 

Mike Spencer, a Conservative MP for Sherwood and Minister in the Department of Fisheries, Food, and Agriculture, recently spoke with GB News about a potential comeback of former PM Boris Johnson as a key figure in British politics. 

“You should never write Boris Johnson off. Because if you look back, everybody said he could never become Mayor of London, and he did it,” – he argued. 

Mr Spencer continued his explanation by drawing attention to the fact that the former Tory leader took charge of complex issues such as Brexit, pretty much against all odds. He referred to the former head of government as a “hugely talented politician”. 

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Spencer further stressed that, in his opinion, current PM Rishi Sunak is “the man of the moment”, which does not exclude Boris Johnson from returning to an important role in UK politics. He underlined that the Tories would be “foolish not to make the most” of Johnson’s talents as an individual.”

Nadine Dorries, one of Johnson’s closest allies, recently stated that the Conservative Party “must bring back Boris or die”. Like several of her fellow Tories, she predicts a Johnson comeback after an expected Tory loss in 2024. If the UK’s former PM indeed opted to return to the front stage, he would undoubtedly face a series of obstacles that could prove challenging. 

From a Polish perspective, having Johnson return to politics wouldn’t be seen as a tragedy. His positive view of Poland translated into his policy toward Warsaw while he served as PM. 

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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 – along with Poland’s stance – pushing for a firm stance of the West toward the Kremlin. 

Image: Shutterstock

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen