Boris Johnson

There have been so many ‘Years of Boris’. 2019: Johnson’s ascent to Downing Street, having replaced Theresa May, slayed Jeremy Corbyn and secured the biggest Tory majority since the Iron Lady. 2020: the then Prime Minister led the British battle against Covid, locking down the country and almost being felled by the disease himself. The beginning of the slide was 2021: that autumn his party’s lead in the polls began to evaporate. And in 2022 it all blew up, with weary Tory MPS lighting the fuse.

It would be understandable for readers to assume, then, that 2023 will be a largely Boris-free year; one in which the stage is clear for others to step into the spotlight. Think again.

Any suggestion that Johnson had given up hope of having the lead role again was shot to bits in October, when, six weeks after leaving Number 10, he tried to mount an extraordinary return. An audacious attempt to convince Rishi Sunak to enter a power-sharing pact failed, but revealed his intent. There was one giveaway line in his lengthy statement reluctantly stepping back from the race: ‘I believe I am well placed to deliver a Conservative victory in 2024.’

This is why 2023 will remain a year of Boris. He will take opportunities to push his case for being the best-placed Tory to win the next election.

Such occasions are expected to be plentiful; among them, perhaps, the (many) paid speaking events he is likely to take on. He is attempting – as friends have said publicly – to put ‘hay in the loft’. A recent appearance for the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers in Washington, DC, alone brought in £276,130. There will also be speeches on the world stage. Johnson dropped into the COP27 climate-change conference in October, joking that unusual summer heat had played a part in his ouster, and has vowed to keep championing Ukraine.

The news of his COP attendance broke before Sunak had announced he was attending. It was a sign Johnson is happy to be a thorn in his successor’s side. Speeches from the Commons backbenches can be expected too. Johnson has indicated he is willing to defend his legacy. Translated: he will speak out if his policies and manifesto promises are watered down or ditched.

Could we also get an appearance at next autumn’s Tory conference? He sat

this year’s out, but that was just after he left office. A return would be like slipping on an old pair of slippers, Johnson re-adopting a role that helped make his political name: the darling of delegates, tweaking the nose of the current leader.

There will, of course, be other politicians coming to the fore. Watch Gillian Keegan, the little-known new Education Secretary, tipped by some for greater things still. Other Tories who may hope to win a leadership race if election defeat comes should also see their public profiles increasing: Kemi Badenoch, the Secretary of State for International Trade, and Tom Tugendhat, Minister for Security, to name just two.

But Johnson will remain in the wings, rehearsing his lines and hoping there is time for an encore.