Boris poised to make comeback as Tories take hammering in the polls

Exclusive research shows Labour is now ahead of the Conservatives when it comes to who is most trusted on the key issues of the economy and immigration. While 29 percent of people said Labour had a “credible plan” to improve the economy, only 21 percent said the same for the Tories. The polling by Redfield and Wilton Strategies found one in four said Labour had a credible plan to manage immigration, with just 19 percent saying this for Rishi Sunak’s party.

Fisheries minister and former chief whip Mark Spencer made the case for Mr Johnson returning to the political fray, saying you “write Boris Johnson off at your peril”.

When asked if the former Prime Minister is likely to return to frontline politics, the Sherwood MP said the Tories would be “foolish” not to make use of his talents.

In an interview with GB News to be broadcast on Sunday evening, Mr Spencer said: “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…

“You know, I think you write Boris Johnson off at your peril. He’s a hugely, hugely talented politician.”

Mr Spencer backed Mr Sunak staying in the top job but insisted Mr Johnson is an important asset, saying: “I think Rishi is the man of this moment. That doesn’t mean that Boris has not got a big role in politics, in UK politics in the future.

“What I would say to you is that he is a man of huge talent, that my constituents love and respect him, that as a party we’d be very foolish to not make the most of those talents that clearly he has as an individual.”

The polling by Redfield and Wilton Strategies shows that one in four people think the country would be in a better place if Mr Johnson had not been pushed out of power, with 27 percent saying it would be in a worse place.

Just over half (51 percent) of respondents said the Conservatives had made the right decision in asking him to resign, with 35 percent saying this was the wrong decision.

A former minister said that if the Tories’ standing in the polls does not improve and the party suffers bad local elections in May it would consider a change of leader.

With polls showing Labour enjoying a lead of around 20 points over the Conservatives, bookmakers Ladbrokes last week offered odds of 4/1 for Mr Sunak to be replaced as leader this year and 11/10 next year. Mr Johnson is the favourite to become next Conservative leader at 5/1, ahead of international trade secretary Kemi Bedenoch at 6/1 and Penny Mordaunt at 8/1.

On who is most likely to be the next Prime Minister, Mr Johnson is on 8/1, behind Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer on 4/11.

Mr Johnson resigned as Conservative leader in July amid mass resignations. In October Mr Johnson pulled out of the race to succeed Liz Truss but said he felt he was “well placed to deliver a Conservative victory in 2024”.

Separate polling by Techne found that 48 percent of people do not think Mr Sunak will still be PM at the end of the year, with just one in three thinking he will be.

In a further sign of public frustration, 45 percent said they wanted an election this year, with just 39 percent opposed.

The full interview with Mark Spencer is broadcast from 6pm on Gloria Meets on GB News.

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