The Conservatives have resorted to bringing out a controversial former leader to help endorse candidates in the upcoming general election.
Boris Is Back – Sort Of
Boris Johnson will be putting his name on several thousand letters that will be sent out in Tory seats ahead of the election.
Letters Urging Against Reform UK Support
The letters ask voters to keep faith with the Tories rather than vote for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party.
Videos Being Recorded
In addition to the letters, reports suggest that Boris Johnson has recorded videos in support of Tory candidates in the hope of mobilising the Tory vote.
Sunak Happy With Boris’ Involvement
Rishi Sunak has said that having Boris Johnson endorsing candidates standing for election “will make a difference”.
Sunak Welcoming His Letters and Video Support
The PM continued: “It’s great that Boris is supporting the Conservative Party, I very much welcome that. He’s endorsing many candidates in videos and letters which have been coordinated by the campaign and I know that will make a difference.”
Undermining Leadership
It speaks volumes about Sunak’s confidence and authority when he’s relying on his former boss to endorse candidates.
The Ex They Can’t Get Over
For some Tories, Boris Johnson represents a former glory. They’re desperate to get him back, believing he’ll lead them to power again.
Memories Are Short
Many of the party forget what Johnson was like as a leader. In July 2022, 62 of his ministers quit over his leadership.
Johnson Yet to Help Tories in Person
Despite pleas from many Tories, Boris Johnson hasn’t thrown his political weight behind the Tory campaign in person yet.
Rumours He’s Helping in Background
There are reports that Johnson is helping the Tories at their HQ, though, so he’s still involved with the campaign.
Sunak and Johnson Have a Strained Relationship
There is said to be no love lost between the two, having gone from political allies during COVID to critical of one another’s leadership.
Few Tories Want to Show Leadership
In reality, only a handful of Conservatives have done most of the campaigning.
Cabinet Doing Much of the Lifting
Rishi Sunak, Jeremy Hunt, David Cameron, Penny Mordaunt, Kemi Badenoch and Mark Harper have done most of the media work.
Uncomfortable for Many
A lot of the media appearances have been very uncomfortable, with the MPs having to face questions from the media about Rishi Sunak’s D-Day disappearance and Tory lies on tax.
Interesting Approach Taken by Johnson
Rather than say how great a Tory government would be, he’s warning against a potential Labour government – it smacks of ‘we’re the least-bad option’.
Johnson Part of the Problem
Whilst some Tories still hold Johnson in high regard, many Tories still won’t forgive him for his time in office, where his lying and ‘Partygate’ were the norm.
Desperate to Save the Right-Wing Vote
The inclusion of Boris is an attempt to prevent the further right elements of the Tory support from leaving and voting for Reform UK.
All Stops Pulled Out
With the Tories bleeding vote share to Reform UK, they’ve got to use every trick to save their votes.
Success or Failure?
We’ll see how this pans out for them, but it smacks of desperation. It’s likely to save a handful of votes but not much more.
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