Boris Johnson was forced to quit in July, now some Conservative Party lawmakers are hoping he's the comeback king who will replace Liz Truss as Britain’s prime minister
Former defence minister Penny Mordaunt became the first candidate to officially declare, but Johnson and Rishi Sunak, once his finance minister, led potential contenders as candidates canvassed support ahead of voting next week.
Johnson has not formally announced he will run but momentum was growing behind him, with business minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, levelling-up minister Simon Clarke and president of the COP26 climate conference Alok Sharma giving him their backing. Influential defence minister Ben Wallace said he wasA Reuters tally of Conservative lawmakers who have made public declarations of support put Sunak on 68 backers, Johnson on 33 and Mordaunt on 19.
But some queried whether Johnson, who left office comparing himself to a Roman dictator twice brought into power to fight crises, could clinch 100 nominations. His three-year premiership was blighted by scandals and allegations of misconduct.