A politician who hates to lose – question is whether Boris Johnson has the appetite and ability to win once more | Beth Rigby
A politician who thrives on drama and attention, Boris Johnson’s bombshell resignation on Friday night was true to form: once again the former prime minister left Westminster reeling, while also throwing in grenades against enemies that will ensure he remains in the spotlight for some time yet.
It was undoubtedly a shock. Even one of his closest allies told me a few minutes after his excoriating resignation letter landed that they had no idea this was coming. It was also vintage Johnson, as the former prime minister unleashed a full frontal attack on the protagonists he believed caused his demise – Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the “kangaroo court” privileges committee who Mr Johnson insisted was always going to find him guilty regardless of the evidence.
As with his resignation from Number 10, there was not a scrap of contrition or regard for the democratic process that had got him to this place (remember there was a Commons vote to kick off the inquiry and there is also a Tory majority on that committee).
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Instead there was fury, defiance and the threat of revenge laced through his remarks. He ended his statement saying he was “very sad to be leaving parliament – at least for now”.
Cue frenzied speculation about whether he might find another seat to come back in before the next general election. Whatever he does now, what is clear is that he’ll be hurling rocks from the sidelines at a prime minister he’s determined to destroy.
But surveying the scene of Mr Johnson’s bombshell the morning after, the timing of the detonation makes perfect sense.
We knew two things about the former prime minister: he was very focused on getting his resignation honours lists through, and he’d said himself at the privilege committee hearings that he wouldn’t accept the findings if members didn’t find in his favour.
Having received a copy of their report a few days ago, he’d clearly decided to quit rather than suffer the humiliation of being sanctioned and potentially suspended as an MP through a Commons vote. So when his honours list was secured and published, it was time for Mr Johnson to go.
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Tory MP pays tribute to Johnson
We don’t yet know the findings of the committee – due to meet on Monday to decide whether to now expedite the publication of its report – but we do know from Mr Johnson’s furious response that it’s likely MPs determined he had wilfully or recklessly misled the House, and were preparing to recommend a suspension of more than 10 sitting days from the Commons.
We currently only have Mr Johnson’s versions of events, as the former prime minister looked to set the narrative on a report that is almost certainly going to be very damning indeed. We know the privileges committee has received more evidence regarding Mr Johnson, since the initial partygate hearings earlier this year.
Last month, Boris Johnson was referred to police over further potential lockdown breaches by the Cabinet Office, which had been reviewing documents as part of the COVID inquiry. His ministerial diary revealed visits by family and friends to the prime ministerial country retreat Chequers during the pandemic. The information handed to the police was also handed to the privileges committee as part of its investigation. While Mr Johnson’s spokesperson immediately dismissed claims of breaches as a “politically motivated stitch-up”, another figure told me that the evidence is damning and has Mr Johnson “bang to rights”.
“There was an expectation that MPs would try to avoid the highest sanction, that they have gone there means it must be pretty bad,” says one Whitehall figure, who believes that the privileges committee has been unanimous in its verdict against him (we won’t know that for sure until the report is out).
The big question on my mind now is whether Mr Johnson will – or can – stage a comeback, and to what extent he’ll be able to disrupt his political nemesis Mr Sunak from outside the tent.
When it comes to the former question, the former prime minister has clearly decided not to box himself in and there is a big chunk of the activist base, as well as the parliamentary base, that are Mr Johnson backers.
But it’s equally true that this close to an election, Conservative MPs don’t want to stoke division – with a nod to the old adage that divided parties don’t win elections.
His most loyal backers on Friday night rode out on Twitter and TV screens to denounce the privileges committee, rather than amplify further Mr Johnson’s pointed criticisms about Mr Sunak and his government.
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For its part, the Number 10 team were relieved when Mr Johnson failed to lead a huge rebellion and don’t believe he had anything near the potency he once had. “We’re in a period where Rishi is doing well restoring trust after a period of distress,” is how one figure close to the PM put it to me. “I don’t think the mood in the party is pitch forks.”
That’s not to say Number 10 isn’t worried by an unleashed and furious Mr Johnson determined to settle scores, but, as another person put it: “He is one man, the party is more than that and we sometimes lose sight of that in the Johnson circus.”
Prime minister Sunak with President Biden
But the criticisms Mr Johnson has levelled at Mr Sunak – justified or not – are potent. There’s the criticism of Mr Sunak’s handling of Brexit and failure to get a UK-US free trade deal, to his call for lower taxes and bemoaning the lack of political momentum going into an election.
Those in government might remark in exasperation that the relationship between Mr Johnson and President Biden meant a free trade deal is something he’d never had been able to do, but that doesn’t matter much – what matters is that these dog whistles rally a base in the party frustrated by the new regime. He already has in the new grassroots Conservative Democratic Organisation, a movement which he could lead.
What he’ll do next, we don’t know. But the signs are that he intends, with his allies, to be a political menace. A third by-election was triggered on Saturday after another key Johnson backer Nigel Adams announced he too was quitting Westminster with immediate effect. That on top of the two by-elections caused by Mr Johnson and that of his closest political ally Nadine Dorries are the last thing his successor needs. Lose them, and it all feeds into the narrative that Mr Sunak is a busted flush.
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There are obvious questions as to whether Mr Johnson will try to stand in Ms Dorries’ mid-Beds seat, where the Conservatives are defending a 24,000 majority, or return to another safe seat before the next election (there were plenty of rumours before all of this that Mr Johnson was on the look out for a safer seat than Uxbridge and South Ruislip).
He could equally return to writing a newspaper column or editorship. What’s clear from his resignation statement is that he still intends to hold the spotlight whether Mr Sunak likes it or not.
Johnson swearing in ahead of hearing at Privileges Committee March, 2023.
Those around him tell me Mr Johnson shouldn’t be written off and feels deeply aggrieved by what he sees as a campaign within Number 10 and the cabinet office to defenestrate him, with briefings against him in the run-up to the publication of the privileges committee report and then vote in Commons. His camp believe fervently that Mr Sunak is trying to drive them from parliament and the party: they are defiant and this, if you like, is the beginning of a fight back. I’m told more resignations are likely.
For the current regime, Mr Johnson’s attack gives voice to those supporters angry that – in the words of one – Mr Sunak is unpicking the 2019 manifesto despite having neither a mandate from he public or party members. For many Conservatives, it is Mr Johnson who has the box office appeal and ability to connect with voters in a way that Mr Sunak does not. Those loyal to him are ready to rally – should he mount an attempt to return to parliament.
There are detractors who say Mr Johnson is done, that the partygate scandal has damaged his standing with the public and the party beyond repair.
A snap poll out today by YouGov found that nearly three in four Britons believe Mr Johnson committed further breaches of COVID rules than those he’s already been investigated and fined for.
In some ways, the easier thing for Mr Johnson to do was make this resignation the concluding chapter of his political life. But instead he’s chosen to leave the door open to a sequel.
A politician who above all hates to lose, the question is, after all that’s passed, whether he still has the appetite – and ability – to try once more to win. Never rule him out.
Sir Keir Starmer has said stability in the Middle East is “a priority” following US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, as the world has reacted to the attack.
The prime minister also called on Iran to “return to the negotiating table” to “reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis”.
Follow latest: Iran considering ‘all options’ after US strikes
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US strikes on Iran explained
In a statement, Sir Keir said: “Iran’s nuclear programme is a grave threat to international security.
“Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat.
“The situation in the Middle East remains volatile and stability in the region is a priority.
“We call on Iran to return to the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis.”
The UK was not involved in the strikes but was informed about them in advance by the US, Business Minister Jonathan Reynolds told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips.
Sir Keir and Foreign Secretary David Lammy had been pushing for a diplomatic solution. On Thursday, the prime minister warned of a “real risk of escalation” in the conflict.
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Trump: Iran strikes ‘spectacular success’
The US struck three sites in Iran early on Sunday morning, with Donald Trump boasting the country’s key nuclear sites were “completely and fully obliterated” in an address to the nation from the White House and warned there could be further strikes if Iran retaliates.
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What happens next is largely in Iran’s control
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‘Trump’s bold decision will change history’
Netanyahu praises Trump
Israel‘s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Mr Trump for the strikes, saying: “Your bold decision to target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history…
“History will record that President Trump acted to deny the world’s most dangerous regime the world’s most dangerous weapons.”
UN secretary-general ‘gravely alarmed’ by US attack
But UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said he was “gravely alarmed by the use of force” by the US against Iran.
“This is a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security. There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control – with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world.”
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European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas urged all sides to step back and return to the negotiating table. “Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon,” she said in a post on X.
“I urge all sides to step back, return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation,” she said, adding that EU foreign ministers will discuss the situation tomorrow.
Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel. Pic: Reuters
How the world reacted to the strikes
Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on X: “We strongly condemn the US bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities, which constitutes a dangerous escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
“The aggression seriously violates the UN Charter and international law and plunges humanity into a crisis with irreversible consequences.”
Venezuela’s foreign minister Yvan Gil said his country’s government “condemns US military aggression” and “demands an immediate cessation of hostilities”.
In a statement, an Australian government spokesperson said Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programme “has been a threat to international peace and security”.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Isiba. Pic: Reuters
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said it is “crucial that there be a quick de-escalation of the conflict”.
Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani said after the attack that his country’s government hopes “a de-escalation can begin and Iran can sit down at the negotiating table”.
The US attack came after more than a week of strikes by Israel, which have significantly degraded Iran’s air defences and offensive missile capabilities, and damaged its nuclear enrichment facilities.
Israel’s strikes on Iran have killed at least 865 people and wounded 3,396 others, according to the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists. The group said of those killed, 365 were civilians and 215 were security force personnel.
Since the local elections Reform UK has had no shortage of good polls.
But a new one suggests Nigel Farage‘s party has a chance not only of winning the next election, but of claiming a decent Commons majority, too.
In February, Reform topped a Sky News/YouGov poll for the first time, with Nigel Farage’s party edging in front on 25%, Labour pushed into second on 24%, with the Tories on 21%.
But a fresh one from Ipsos puts Reform on 34%, nine points ahead of Labour on 25%, with the Conservatives a distant third on 15%.
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While the other parties are flatlining, Reform appears to be pushing boundaries.
Were these figures to be replicated across the country at a general election, with every constituency behaving the same way, then Reform could win as many as 340 seats, giving it a majority of 30, Sky News analysis suggests.
Labour could be reduced to 176 seats, down 236 on last year’s election, while the Tories would hit a record low of 12 seats.
But polling should always be taken with a pinch of salt and with the firm acknowledgement that there is not an election coming any time soon.
Conservative backbenchers might also tell you publicly that opinion polls are notoriously difficult to translate into seat numbers because voting percentages in individual constituencies can vary hugely from the overall average.
But the truth is that the symbolism of Reform UK topping another poll is likely to be noticed by MPs from all parties, especially backbench Conservatives who have actively been hoping their leader, Kemi Badenoch, can help them climb the polls and bring the party back into public favour.
Politics is a brutal game and when it comes to toppling underwhelming party leaders, the Tories are more ruthless than most. One wonders how many of these polls Mrs Badenoch’s party will allow her to endure.
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Reeves takes aim at Reform UK
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This poll is also a warning to Labour.
As the party approaches a year since its major victory, it will not have much to celebrate if these numbers are anything to go by.
According to this survey, only 19% are satisfied with the job Sir Keir Starmer is doing as prime minister, with 73% dissatisfied.
And the figure of 25% of voters intending to vote Labour is a level not seen since October 2019.
While abstract to much of the public, polling can often shape not only the chatter inside Westminster but how and when plots by MPs begin.
For Reform UK, this is a much-needed morale boost after a surprise resignation by their former Chairman Zia Yusuf, and then an almost immediate U-turn back into the party.
And Kemi Badenoch – who said during her leadership campaign that the Conservatives needed to go back to first principles and that this would take time – will be wondering, seven-and-a-half months after winning the leadership, how much time she really has left.
Ipsos interviewed a representative probability sample of 1,180 British adults aged 18+, via the Ipsos UK KnowledgePanel. Data was collected between 30 May-4 June 2025.
The impending ban on protest group Palestine Action has divided opinion – described as both “outrageous” and “long overdue”.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is expected to take the step after the group broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on e-scooters and sprayed two Voyager planes with red paint.
The prime minister described the attack as “outrageous” and a rapid review of security at MoD bases is under way.
It was the latest protest in a five-year campaign from Palestine Action (PA) that has targeted arms manufacturers, financial institutions, political figures and government buildings.
Red spray paint has become its signature.
Damage to planes at Brize Norton
On its website, PA says it is a “direct action movement” committed to ending “global participation” in what it calls Israel’s “genocidal and apartheid regime”.
It adds that it uses “disruptive tactics” to target “corporate enablers of the Israeli military-industrial complex”.
Banning the group would make membership of it illegal. It would be treated as a terrorist organisation.
Saeed Taji Farouky, a spokesman for PA, told Sky News that potential proscription was “unfair”, adding that it was “ludicrous” that a “civil society direct action group” could end up on the same list as ISIS.
He added: “It’s not logical, it’s not even consistent with the British legal definition of terrorism, it’s a reaction that’s been taken overnight, with almost no discussion or debate.
“The whole thing is incredibly worrying, mostly for what it means about British law in general, about undermining the very basis of British democracy and the rule of law.”
There are “no circumstances” under which the two people who breached Brize Norton would be handed over to the police, he said.
Singer-songwriter Paloma Faith, who spoke at a pro-Palestine rally in Whitehall in central London on Saturday, told Sky News she was “devastated” by the move.
Paloma Faith spoke at the pro-Palestine rally
“I have met some of the people who have friends in that group. They are young students and they are basically trying to do something because they feel that our government is failing them.”
She added that “everyone” wants to end what she described as a “massacre” in Gaza.
Israel says its military campaign in Gaza is a way of defending itself against Hamas, which killed more than a thousand people in its 7 October attacks and took about 240 people hostage. Hamas-run health authorities claim Israeli attacks have since killed almost 56,000 people in Gaza.
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What’s happening to Palestine Action?
Faith continued: “When you scribble on something, or paint on it, it’s a non-violent protest and it shouldn’t be made at the same level as a violent protest – it is unjust.”
Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, backed Palestine Action’s use of non-violent protest.
A bank damaged by Palestine Action
He told Sky News: “There has been a place for that in all political movements in history.
“In the struggle for the rights of black people in the US, in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, in the struggle for women to have the vote, people took forms of non-violent direct action.
“Imagine if we had the current [situation] back in those days – we would have been proscribing the suffragettes, treating them as terrorists.”
There was a pro-Israeli counter-protest in London
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Others have welcomed the move. Lord Walney, who served as the government’s independent adviser on political violence, told Sky News the decision was “long overdue”.
“Palestine Action have acted as the enemy within which is why it’s right, now, to crack down on them,” he said.
“They have terrorised working people for a number of years and there’s a number of serious violent charges that are going through the court system at the moment.”
The UK government is expected to announce its decision early next week.
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