Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

The return of Boris Johnson? Readers react to rumours he could return after Liz Truss quits

Boris Johnson after Britain secured a trade deal to leave the European Union in 2020. Image:  Xinhua/Shutterstock.
Boris Johnson after Britain secured a trade deal to leave the European Union in 2020. Image: Xinhua/Shutterstock.

Could Boris Johnson really be in the running to return to Number 10?

After Liz Truss confirmed her departure in a statement delivered in Downing Street on Thursday afternoon, the contest has been blown wide open.

Early frontrunners include Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and Kemi Badenoch.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove have both ruled themselves out of the running.

But rumours have been swirling that Boris Johnson could be plotting a return.

Just a few hours before Ms Truss’ resignation announcement, close Johnson ally Nadine Dorries tweeted her support for him.

Boris Johnson before he departed No 10 Downing Street. London. Image: Number 10.

Mr Johnson very reluctantly left Downing Street, saying in a speech in July outside the famous black door: “I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world”.

His final words at Prime Minister’s Questions were: “Hasta la vista, baby”, famously used by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator, meaning “until the next time we see each other”.

Johnson, 58, was forced out after his own MPs turned their backs on him, despite winning a landslide victory in 2019’s General Election.

Some have suggested his star power could be what is needed after polling shows the Conservatives could be facing a “wipeout” at the next election if they don’t turn things around.

Google searches for the man increased by 1,500% after Truss resigned, and he is reportedly cutting short his holiday in the Dominican Republic to return to the UK.

But what do our readers think of the rumours? Let us know your own views in the comments below.

‘It just gets worse and worse’

Michael Narayan wrote on Facebook: “‘Wasn’t it his lies and dishonesty that triggered all this chaos in the first place?”

Stuart Fraser believes: “Just when you think it can’t get any worse…”

Bill Stewart wrote: “Excellent news. He makes a very convincing case for Scottish independence.”

Deena Tissera is the Labour Councillor for the Hilton, Woodside and Stockethill ward in Aberdeen tweeted: “You can’t make this up!”

‘That would be hilarious’

But other readers seemed to welcome the news of Boris’ return.

Richard Mahan commented: “That would be hilarious.”

Jackie Hickman wrote on Facebook: “Could not do any worse.”

Andy Smith added: “Best thing that could happen!”

Some MP’s have also thrown their weight behind Mr Johnson.

Brendan Clarke-Smith, MP for Bassetlaw wrote on Twitter he was needed to “turn the tide and avert the disaster of a Labour government.”

Government minister Sir James Duddridge MP tweeted: “I hope you enjoyed your holiday boss. Time to come back. Few issues at the office that need addressing.”

Conversation