Rishi’s big mistake? He brought back the wrong man

DaviD Cameron’s shock return to the Government last autumn was intended to calm the ship and turn the polls around. But the truth is that his appointment as Foreign secretary went down like a lead balloon in the Commons.

Lord Cameron of Chipping norton is not exactly popular amongst mPs, some of whom were not long out of nappies when he became party leader.

in true blue Tory strongholds, he’s regarded by many as a grifter in the wake of the Greensill lobbying scandal. in the red Wall seats, he’s despised as privileged and out-of-touch.

if rishi’s plan was to survive to the next general election and win back disenchanted voters, then he brought back the wrong man.

imagine if on that november day last year a car had pulled up in Downing street and a former prime minister who people had actually elected — and with a landslide majority — had stepped out?

That’s how rishi could have steadied the ship and moved the polls back in his favour. With Boris at his side, the Tories could have presented a united front and turned the guns on Labour.

This past weekend has been a febrile one at Westminster for Tory mPs. staring down the barrel of a shotgun ahead of the local elections on Thursday, they’re panicking.

a former Cabinet minister texted me: ‘it’s bunker mentality in no 10.’ i text back: ‘ no, it’s just menTaL.’

The chatter suggests that if things go as badly as expected, rishi will face a confidence vote in his leadership. He’ll survive — but his position will be untenable and he will have no choice but to stand down. This would be a disaster.

i believe it will be the end of the Conservative Party if we change Prime minister yet again.

all rishi ever had to do was pick up the phone. now he’s in the bunker, maybe he’s realising at last that his only hope ever lay with Boris — not Cameron — at his side.