Boris Johnson is committed to staying in politics, saying he will stand as an MP again. Photo / AP
Boris Johnson is committed to staying in politics, saying he will stand as an MP again. Photo / AP
Boris Johnson has told his local Conservative Party he will stand again as an MP at the next general election, The Telegraph can reveal.
The former UK prime minister indicated his decision ahead of next week’s deadline for Tory candidates to inform the party whether they wish to contest the poll, which is expected to be held in 2024.
It signals that Johnson is committed to a long-term political future representing Uxbridge and South Ruislip, despite remaining on the backbenches.
Another run would also leave the door open to a future leadership campaign if a vacancy were to emerge.
In October, he passed the threshold of 100 nominations from his parliamentary colleagues required for a run to replace Liz Truss, only to withdraw from the race hours before the deadline.
Johnson has been the MP for the west London constituency since 2015. He is understood to have confirmed his intention to stand for a fourth time in conversations with local party chiefs.
Fantastic to be out and about in our community and meeting so many hardworking people doing incredible work pic.twitter.com/kl7scWa9bb
Richard Mills, the chairman of his local association, told The Telegraph: “Uxbridge and South Ruislip Conservative Association fully support Boris Johnson as our local MP and candidate at any future election.
“Since his re-election in 2019, he has delivered on his plans for redevelopment and modernisation of Hillingdon Hospital as well as increasing police numbers across Uxbridge.
“We look forward to continuing to work alongside him to deliver for the residents and communities within the constituency, where he has strong connections and involvement.”
Johnson has thrown himself into life as a backbencher with a string of constituency visits, including trips to Ruislip Synagogue and Uxbridge High School this week.
All MPs who say they are running can still pull out closer to the date of an election if there were to be a change in their circumstances.
Polling carried out by Survation in October at the height of Truss’s unpopularity suggested the Tories were some 37 points behind Labour in London, meaning every MP in the capital – including Johnson – could lose their seats.
Similar polling has yet to be carried out to reflect how the party’s MPs in the capital would be likely to fare under the leadership of Rishi Sunak.
Britain's latest Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. Photo / AP
To date, a dozen Conservative MPs have confirmed their intention to stand down at the next election.
These include Dehenna Davison, 29, a minister at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and Chloe Smith, 40, Truss’s former work and pensions secretary.
Their announcements sparked fears of an “exodus” of former frontbenchers, as well as those representing seats likely to be won back by Sir Keir Starmer’s party.
The average age of the Tories who have confirmed they will step back from frontline politics is 49, compared with 69.5 for departing Labour MPs.
Some 71 Tory MPs have confirmed to The Telegraph they will be standing again, subject to re-selection by their local party. Fifty-one of these are backbenchers, while 20 are on the Government payroll. - The Telegraph
