Could 2023 be the year Boris Johnson returns as prime minister?

Will the nation cry out for the charisma and chaos of the lost leader to be restored to No 10, asks John Rentoul

Johnson’s supporters thought that the chance for their wronged hero’s return had come too early after Truss (Reuters)

Boris Johnson loves to tease his enemies. Writing the diary in the Christmas edition of The Spectator, which he used to edit, he spoke of the “unexpected hiatus in my career”. He signed off from the office of prime minister by speaking of Cincinnatus, the Roman senator who was recalled from his plough when the republic needed him, and saying, “Hasta la vista, baby!”

He has a band of supporters dedicated to securing his return to office. This month the Conservative Democratic Organisation was launched to campaign for grassroots members to “take back control” of the Tory party. Its leading lights, notably Peter Cruddas, the billionaire raised to the peerage by Johnson against the advice of the House of Lords Appointments Commission, want a re-run of the Tory leadership election among party members, and with Johnson as a candidate.

Some of Johnson’s supporters are excited that Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 Committee, said in an interview this week that Johnson had 110 MPs supporting his nomination for the leadership election in October. This was more than the 102 needed to put him on the ballot paper, which was previously assumed to be the limit of Johnson’s support.