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In their intervention, senior Conservative leaders said the party must put Boris Johnson at the centre of the general election campaign to avoid a major defeat, putting fresh pressure on Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
The Prime Minister claims he has discussed with his predecessor how to stop Sir Keir Starmer from landing in Downing Street, but there is no sign yet that Johnson will play a significant role in the election.
The former party leader can no longer run in the upcoming election, but his allies hope he will return to public appearances and campaign.
A senior Conservative leader close to Johnson said: I“All Rishi has to do is give Boris a call and I hope he will. We need his help in the campaign and I’m sure he’ll be happy to oblige if asked to play any role.”
“He’s an election winner and the only campaigner who can compete with Nigel Farage. It’s honestly crazy that the Prime Minister hasn’t picked up the Batphone. We need him.”
Another senior MP added: “Rishi’s rubbish campaign is getting us nowhere and is leading us to a massive defeat.”
“He needs to recognise his limitations and realise the huge threat to the party. He needs to swallow his pride and get Boris to work with him for the good of the party and the country.”
Friends of Mr Johnson had previously expressed surprise at the timing of the July 4 vote, saying he planned to be out of the country for most of the general election campaign.
A source close to Mr Sunak suggested his predecessor’s absence would limit the role he could play in the campaign, but added that Conservative strategists expected Mr Johnson to continue attacking Labour in weekly campaign rallies. Daily Mail Column.
In an article on Friday, the former chancellor slammed Sir Keir Starmer, claiming that Starmer would “raise people’s taxes and soak in wokeness” and accuse him of planning to move the UK closer to the EU.
“Bit by bit,” Johnson wrote, “he will give away our freedoms until the country is effectively locked in the legislative dungeons of Brussels like a disabled person chewing an orange ball.”
Sunak and Johnson They are not thought to have spoken to each other in person apart from brief exchanges at official events such as Remembrance Day since they met to discuss the possibility of a surprise joint run for Conservative leader to succeed Liz Truss in November 2022.
The two worked closely together when Mr Johnson appointed Mr Sunak, a relative unknown, first to cabinet and then to finance, but there was a falling out after Mr Sunak resigned in protest at the then-chancellor’s actions and was ousted from his job within 48 hours.
Opinion polls show Johnson is less popular than his successor among voters overall, but he has a big lead among pro-Brexit former Conservative voters who have switched to Reform Britain.
2024 Election
Senators Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer have returned to campaigning after a hiatus to mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Senatorial election. I‘s General Election live blog is the place to be for everything from party manifestos to candidate news and who will decide the outcome of the election.
Sir Keir and other party leaders criticised Sunak for leaving a ceremony to mark the Normandy landings early – leading to him apologising – while Labour announced plans to help first-time buyers get onto the home-buying ladder.
meanwhile, I The UK government has launched a “Protect Britain’s Rivers” manifesto, calling on political parties to make five pledges to improve our waterways, with Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey the first to back the campaign.
Tonight, the seven leaders of the main political parties will go head-to-head in the general election leaders’ debate, which will be covered in full on our liveblog. I Website.