Johnson insisted the U.K. had taken back “legal control” after Brexit. The “problems we face now are illegal migration, people coming across the the Channel illegally,” he said.
On his record on net-zero climate policies he has been less defensive. He has reportedly said in yet another an upcoming book that he went “too fast” on net zero when he was prime minister.
Missing a superstar
Nonetheless, in the absence of Johnson’s media magic, the Conservatives are yet to find a new superstar. The vacuum is conspicuous at the Conservatives’ low-tempo conference — further complicating current leader Kemi Badenoch’s efforts to keep her position.
“He drew a huge crowd wherever he went — people wanted signatures, they wanted selfies,” said one former Johnson adviser, granted anonymity to speak candidly.
“It’s certainly true that the Tories are lacking big hitters — and have lacked big hitters for some time. Boris was the exception. Politics generally is worse off for not having big personalities,” this person went on.
“I do feel that there is a gap now where it’s all a bit boring. Look at Farage. Reform would be nothing without Farage. He grabs their attention. He’s relatable. He’s a man you want to go to the pub with.”
As long as the vacuum persists, so will talk of Johnson returning to fill it. But would he even want to? Friends question whether Johnson’s ambition for a comeback — an eternal parlor game in Tory circles — is as strong as it once was.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if he likes being asked to come back,” his old friend, Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly, said Monday morning at the pub. “But it would surprise me if he wanted to give up what I think is a very, very happy set of personal circumstances at the moment,” he added.