Johnson eyes comeback as UK Tories race to replace Truss

Britain’s divisive former leader Boris Johnson on Friday received heavyweight Conservative backing to stage a sensational comeback following the resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss.

The UK’s ruling party was forced into its second leadership contest in quick succession after Truss announced she was quitting after just 44 tempestuous days in office.

A poll by YouGov found 79 percent of British people thought she was right to resign, with 64 percent calling her a “terrible” prime minister.

The pollster also found that three in five voters want an early general election, in line with the angry clamour coming from opposition parties as Britons struggle with a worsening cost-of-living crisis.

Labour and other parties say only an election can end the months of political chaos, sparked when Johnson was himself forced out in July after non-stop personal and political scandal.

In the resultant contest, Truss won the support of just over 80,000 Tory party members, defeating Rishi Sunak, who correctly warned that her hard-right programme of debt-fuelled tax cuts would crash the economy.

Now with a new vacancy suddenly opening up in 10 Downing Street, the former finance minister has emerged as favourite in the betting markets and media straw polls of Conservative MPs.

But Johnson was reportedly cutting short a Caribbean holiday to take part in the accelerated contest, which will see Tory MPs hold a vote on Monday before a possible online ballot for the members next week.