Tory minister Huw Merriman suggested he may not even support his own party after it decided to wheel out Boris Johnson during a campaign event last night.
The ex-PM’s first public appearance for the Conservatives took many by surprise, and has been seen as an act of Tory desperation as polling day looms closer.
Johnson stepped down as an MP in disgrace shortly before a parliamentary committee ruled he had deliberately misled the Commons over partygate.
And Merriman – who has been minister for rail and HS2 since October 2022 – was not happy to see him back in the spotlight, being promoted by the Conservatives.
Writing on X (formerly Twitter), he said: “Given my refusal to support this man and to then welcome a change from his leadership when the wheels of public and parliamentary tolerance finally fell off, I’m not sure how this pitches for my vote.”
Given my refusal to support this man and to then welcome a change from his leadership when the wheels of public and Parliamentary tolerance finally fell off, I’m not sure how this pitches for my vote https://t.co/kQlh40Gljt
— Huw Merriman (@HuwMerriman) July 2, 2024
The Tory candidate slammed Johnson back in July 2022, telling the then-PM he had failed “in terms of judgement, competency and integrity”.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper hit out at Johnson’s return, too.
She said: “This is an insult to everyone who made heartbreaking sacrifices during the pandemic.
“Rishi Sunak has reached a desperate new low, turning to a man who discredited the office of prime minister and lied to the country time after time.”
Labour shadow minister Chris Bryant also criticised Johnson’s return, saying: “He resigned rather than face the music for lying to parliament.
“He thought the rules didn’t apply to him but enforced them on others. He’s not exactly an asset.”
Clearly not everyone felt the same way, though.
Johnson was met with chants of “Boris, Boris, Boris”, when he appeared at the Tory election rally.
He told the supporters: “When Rishi asked me to come and help, of course I couldn’t say no... We’re all here because we love our country.”
He did not actually share the stage Rishi Sunak, and only mentioned him once.
Sunak famously helped pushed Johnson out of office over his breach of the lockdown rules and the Chris Pincher scandal back in the summer of 2022.
Sunak’s resignation as Johnson’s chancellor then triggered an exodus of Tory MPs from his government.
The ex-PM’s return to the spotlight last night came hours after yet another poll predicted a landslide win for Labour on Thursday.
A Survation survey concluded Keir Starmer’s party has more than a 99% chance of beating Tony Blair’s famous performance nearly 30 years ago by taking more than 418 seats.
