There’s discomfort ahead for Boris Johnson as MPs return to parliament

As has been the case since he took office, Johnson enters the new term in the throes of crisis, writes Andrew Woodcock

From Brexit to benefit cuts, the list of sore points is endless (AFP/Getty)

The return to Westminster after the long summer break is always a time of frenetic excitement for MPs, advisers and political correspondents.

As the corridors and tearooms of the House of Commons start to buzz once more after weeks of quiet, gossip is exchanged, old friendships and animosities are revived and new plots start being hatched.

Next Monday will see that happen in spades, as parliament resumes normal operations for the first time in almost 18 months, following the lifting of coronavirus restrictions first imposed in March 2020.