Nigel Farage has insisted Boris Johnson will not return to campaign in the Red Wall for the Tories at the next general election. There is speculation the former prime minister could hit the campaign trail to help the Conservatives hold on to seats in the north and Midlands won during his landslide 2019 victory.
But speaking on his GB News show last night, Mr Farage said “it just isn’t going to happen” for three very crucial reasons.
He said: “Well, one reason why he won’t do it is he doesn’t really like Rishi Sunak very much.
“The second reason he won’t do it is there’d be nothing in it for him.
“And the third reason he won’t do it is because the last time it was polled, 50 percent of those in the red wall who voted Boris in 2019 now had no confidence in him whatsoever.
“It isn’t going to happen, folks. It’s Conservative central office, putting out a story to try and get rid of what they saw as bad news, as their former deputy chairman left the party yesterday.”
But allies of Mr Johnson told the Express that he would campaign for the Tories to protect “hard-won” Brexit freedoms.
A source close to Mr Johnson said: “Boris is a Tory through and through and would campaign for the Conservative Party whoever is leader.
“He will set out the case against Starmer and spell out how the election victory was won with the agenda of 2019 and then delivering the hard-won Brexit freedoms,” the source added.
“If the Tory party do want to make use of Boris’s skills, he will, of course, put them to good use.”
His involvement would be in the traditional Labour heartlands that fell to the Conservatives under his leadership.
However there have been reports that Mr Johnson wants Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to call him directly if he wants him to help.
It comes as the Tories are trailing behind Sir Keir Starmer’s party in the polls, while Ashfield MP Lee Anderson this week defected to Reform UK.
There has been ongoing speculation over whether Mr Johnson will make a political comeback after he was forced out of No 10 then quit Parliament over a “witch hunt” probe into Partygate.
Mr Sunak was widely seen as instrumental in Mr Johnson’s downfall with his resignation as chancellor sparking a domino effect.
But relations between the pair have thwawed recently with the pair last month issuing a joint social media post to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
