Boris plans conference comeback
BORIS Johnson will make his comeback at the Tory party conference next month – just as Brexit negotiations reach their climax.
The former foreign secretary has agreed to give a keynote speech at a fringe event during the four-day gathering in Birmingham, the Daily Mail has learnt.
His decision to speak comes after party chiefs last week opened disciplinary proceedings against him over his comments on the burka. The intervention will prove a nightmare for Theresa May as she attempts to unite the party around her Chequers plan.
Just ten days before the conference opens on September 30, the Prime Minister will fly to Salzburg for a meeting of EU leaders, where they hope to make a breakthrough. They are aiming to agree a deal in October.
Mr Johnson’s comeback will snatch attention from Mrs May at the critical moment. Downing Street had hoped she would be able to use the conference to sell her Brexit plan directly to party members. Many rankand-file Tories have so far shown reluctance to get behind the proposals.
Mr Johnson has largely avoided speaking on Brexit since he quit as foreign secretary last month, days after the Cabinet agreed to the Chequers plan. In his resignation letter, he warned Mrs May that the Brexit ‘dream is dying’ and claimed her plan would mean Britain taking on ‘the status of a colony’.
Since then his remarks on the subject have been limited but it is expected that Mr Johnson will find it impossible to resist setting out his views about Brexit during his speech to party members.
Mr Johnson has so far agreed to take part in one fringe event, with discussions ongoing about possible further appearances.
Allies of the Prime Minister will be concerned that the platform will give Mr Johnson an opportunity to rally support among the membership ahead of a potential leadership bid.