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Taking to the stage at Tuesday night’s rally, Rishi Sunak praised Boris Johnson’s last-minute appearance, telling the crowd: “Friends, isn’t it wonderful that our Conservative family is united?”
Not that Johnson was there to hear it: by the time the Prime Minister stepped out to face the Conservative activists, his predecessor was already half way out of the room, having opted not to stick around to listen to Mr Sunak’s attempts to galvanise his troops.
Although Mr Johnson presented the appearance of a united front after his surprise appearance at the National Army Museum in Chelsea, London, his latest burst of stardom was in fact the result of days of delicate negotiations between his and Mr Sunak’s camps.
Desperate to sprinkle a bit of sparkle in a campaign that has lost some of its magic, the Conservative campaign chief, Isaac Levido, has turned to his former boss in the hope of some boost from Johnson’s campaign.
The meeting was between Mr Levido and Mr Johnson’s long-time aide Ross Kempsell, who was awarded a Conservative peerage in the former prime minister’s retirement awards list.
The deal was carefully choreographed until the very end: The rally was opened by Michael Gove, another Conservative with a long and troubled history with Johnson, who introduced his former ally to cheers and chants of “Boris! Boris!”
The difference in the welcome for the former Conservative chancellor was stark compared with the reception Mr Sunak received just 24 hours earlier at a similar rally in Hinckley, Leicestershire, where a small group of 30 to 40 activists had gathered to hear their leader promote the Conservative message.
Johnson was careful not to directly mention his successor in his speech, other than to clarify that “Rishi Sunak has asked me” to get involved in the campaign.
Despite a string of scandals, beginning with “Partygate” and ending with his defense of a Conservative MP accused of sexual assault, Johnson’s camp firmly believes Sunak is responsible for his downfall.
Mr Johnson warned the crowd about the consequences of allowing a historic Labour majority and took on Nigel Farage and the reformists in a way that Conservative candidates have been privately urging Mr Sunak for weeks but with little success.
He accused Mr Farage of being a “Kremlin crawler” and a “repeater of Putin’s lies”, adding: “They say Putin is a competent operator and runs a strong operation. If that’s what a man who shoots journalists, poisons opponents and kills thousands of innocent Ukrainian civilians says, then I say shame on them.”
“They will achieve nothing in this election except deliver a sweeping majority to the most left-wing Labour government since the war. We cannot allow that to happen. We cannot allow the Putinists to deliver the Corbyns.”
There was no handshake with the Conservative leader as Mr Johnson left the stage, nor did they pose for cameras together. More cheers of “Boris! Boris!” erupted as he left.
But as Mr Sunak’s speech drew to a close, party activists tried to start a repeat chant of “Rishi! Rishi!” – but the chant quickly died down, journalists at the venue said.
A source close to Sunak declined to say whether the former chancellor would appear again, saying only: “It was a great event – it’s time to remind the public that tough tax rises await them under a Labour government.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer mocked the return of his former rival, telling reporters on the campaign trail: “I would envisage there being a joint press conference with Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak on economic stability around lunchtime today.”
It remains to be seen whether Johnson’s last-minute comeback will be enough to win back some Conservative votes, but it is clear that divisions within the party remain as strong as ever.
2024 Election
With the 4 July polls fast approaching, the general election campaign is all but over. Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer and other party leaders have been battling for votes for six weeks. I‘s election live blog has been covering this from the beginning.
Each party has published their manifesto, with the Conservatives, Greens, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Reform UK explaining why people should vote. Read IManifestos comparing each of the major parties’ promises on issues such as the NHS, education, defence, devolution, tax, spending, HS2 and housing.
Before you head to the polls on Thursday, you can read the polls, see which races are likely to be won or lost, be informed about who you’ll vote for, and prepare for the weather.