Tory HQ blocks Johnson ‘chicken run’ to Henley

BORIS JOHNSON has been told by the Tory party that he cannot make a “chicken run” to the seat of Henley at the next election, the town’s MP has said.

John Howell insisted the former prime minister would only take up the seat, which has a healthy Conservative majority, “over my dead body”.

Mr Johnson represented the Oxfordshire constituency from 2001 until 2008, when he left the Commons to become the Mayor of London.

He has been repeatedly linked with a return, given that his current seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip is seen as vulnerable to Labour.

Mr Howell, who is standing down at the next election, was asked if he had struck a deal for the former prime minister to take over.

“I can absolutely deny that,” he told ITV. “I do not do deals with Boris Johnson and I have not done a deal with Boris Johnson.

“He has been told by the Conservative Party that he has to stand in his current seat.” Asked if there was any way Mr Johnson could return as Henley’s MP, he replied: “Over my dead body.”

Mr Johnson was reselected as the candidate for Uxbridge and South Ruislip in March by local Tory members. He won a 7,210 majority in 2019.

Henley, which is just 18 miles away, is a more solid Conservative constituency. Mr Howell won the seat with a 14,053 majority at the last general election.

Tory sources have told The Daily Telegraph that party bosses would more than likely try to block Mr Johnson making a “chicken run” to the safer seat.

One said that MPS could only seek permission to relocate to another area if their seat was negatively affected by upcoming boundary changes.

Mr Johnson is set to picking up more Tory voting areas, according to analysis by Electoral Calculus.

However, he could be ousted from Uxbridge and South Ruislip as a result of the partygate inquiry, which would leave him needing a new seat.

The Liberal Democrats, who came second in Henley last time, have already drawn up an attack campaign if Mr Johnson returns to the town.