Normally this is nothing more than a confidence trick. This year, not so much. The energy ceiling, the war in Ukraine, inflation, not to mention the small matter of a change in UK government leadership – to the untrained eye, this can all look like a more traditionally busy time of year. And yet, amid all the real news, August still spawns fanciful, or at least exaggerated, notions aimed at infuriating or frightening newspaper readers. Speculation that Boris Johnson will return to Downing Street in the not too distant future is one such story. Now, constitutionally speaking, there is (currently) no obstacle to prevent Johnson from making a dramatic return to the leadership of his party, other than a lack of support from the very MPs who conspired to get rid of him in the first place position. The concept of prime ministerial renewal is not unknown in Britain, although, in the post-war era, only two – Winston Churchill and Harold Wilson – returned to office after electoral defeat. What is much rarer is for a former prime minister to be removed from the leadership of his party, and then somehow reclaim that position, usually from the rival who usurped it in the first place. You would have to travel nearly ten thousand miles in a southeasterly direction to find such an example in recent times: the replacement of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd by his rival and ex-girlfriend Julia Gillard, and the subsequent replacement of Gillard by Rudd before. Labour’s defeat in the 2013 general election. But such political melodrama seems somehow un-British. Is Johnson likely to pull the same trick, either this side or the other side, of the general election? Serious consideration of such a scenario is less important than the effect even the question has on certain fragile segments of the electorate. It has been a long, barren six years of defeat and frustration for the kind of people who hate Johnson for his role in the Vote Leave campaign. who could be so cruel as to make even the triumph of the prime minister’s resignation feel so ephemeral? Can’t they be left alone to enjoy this small victory in peace? The prospect of Johnson’s return is being dismissed with abandon, not least by the likes of Rory Stewart, who has confirmed in an authentic way that it is indeed Johnson’s intention to “do a Berlusconi” and return to power soon. How Stewart can claim such an intimate knowledge of Johnson’s thinking is something of a mystery, as the two men are not known to have spoken since Stewart left parliament and the Conservative Party two and a half years ago. , and wasn’t known to be around even before then. But it’s the hate that keeps them going. Comparisons are often made (by the same people) of Johnson and Trump, despite the rather obvious fact that Johnson has been one of the most left-leaning leaders in his party, while Trump has… er, not. But the same derangement syndrome that prompts Democrats to predict the end of Democracy and life as we know it if Trump returns to power in 2025 prompts some on the British Left to use the same apocalyptic language. In part this is to portray the Conservatives as a largely dysfunctional beast, one that is too self-absorbed and fatally divided to govern effectively. To be fair, this analysis should not be dismissed outright. But a large part of it speaks to the nightmares pro-EU, pro-Remain types have in the media and politics about their one victory in the last six years being pulled from their trembling hands. Johnson’s return? How could one tolerate such a prospect? In fact, Johnson’s departure will make the Remainers’ ongoing obsession with Brexit and the 2016 referendum even more irrelevant than it already is. Johnson represents and defines so much of the division of that period that his departure could be used by all sides to begin to heal that division. But that doesn’t seem to be what the Remainers/Rejoiners want. Not a day goes by without an article or tweet decrying Brexit and disparaging the motivations of those who voted Leave. With Johnson still in the limelight – even if only on the backbenches or even pursuing a high-profile career outside parliament – they can use him to continue this bogus war. So Johnson’s critics are divided. They want him gone, of course they do. But they don’t want voters to forget the EU or come to terms with Brexit – that would never happen. But how to focus the minds of the proletariat on Europe after the big bad daddy has left the scene? Comfortable! Raising the prospect that he could somehow return. Stay tuned, people! He who shall not be named still has many disciples who are all too eager to cast a spell and herald the return of their Dark Lord! I have no idea what Johnson’s intentions are, though I wouldn’t judge him as feeling bitter and betrayed, and I’d certainly understand if he harbored some hope, however small, of a return to office one day. He is ambitious and one of the most talented politicians of his generation, so why not speculate as others do? And part of me would smile to regard the utter apoplexy of those who speak today of his political resurrection as a warning rather than a prediction, if such a thing were indeed to happen. But there are other ways Johnson can get at least some partial revenge. Enjoying his post-Downing Street life, for example, and making a pile of cash from it would be a start. This would piss off exactly the right people and require a lot less effort.
