A SECRET mission to bring back Boris Johnson to replace Kemi Badenoch as Tory leader has been launched by senior party insiders.
A group of former Conservative MPs are in talks to convince the ex-PM to make a bombshell return to frontline politics.
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The Sun on Sunday can reveal details of the explosive plot just days after a poll revealed the Tories have sunk to fourth in the polls – behind the Lib Dems.
Grim-faced Tory MPs said the YouGov poll was a “line in the sand” and show they cannot afford to limp on with Kemi as leader for much longer.
A senior Tory said: “Some of the old gang around Boris Johnson are back texting and in talks to get him to return.
“The feeling is he is the only man who can take on Nigel Farage and win. They want to bring back Boris.”
Another Conservative big beast said: “Team Boris are talking again. There are even some people in Tory HQ who are moonlighting on Project Boris.”
Asked about Kemi’s leadership, one gloomy Tory MP said: “We keep sharpening our knives and putting them back down again. Things are pretty grim.”
Another said: “Boris is the only thing Reform would fear. He could be a weapon against them in places like the Red Wall.”
Terrified Tory MPs fear their party is on the brink of extinction and will be replaced by Reform UK as a new party of the right.
Earlier this month, a More in Common poll found that Boris Johnson is the Tory Party’s best chance of beating Nigel Farage in a race for No10.
Their survey found that under Boris the Tories would top the voter poll with 26 per cent, followed by Reform on 23 per cent and Labour on 22 per cent.
Under Kemi they are predicted to limp in at third place.
Amid frenzied chatter Kemi could be on the way out after just six months in the top job, her pal and ex Cabinet minister Michael Gove defended her performance.
He told Times Radio: “I think that Kemi’s instincts on almost every issue are right…She has shown a courage that very few other people in British politics have.”
But Boris’ former spinner Guto Harri said “we inevitably are heading for another leadership challenge”.
A Tory source dismissed the leadership speculation.
The source said: “Anyone who thinks that changing leader after 6 months will help needs to get real.
“The Conservative Party suffered its worst ever defeat last year and renewing the party from the ground up is going to take time.
“Kemi is doing the serious work to develop proper policy plans, rebuild Tory HQ and hold this disastrous Labour government to account.
“She will keep touring the country to listen to the public outside the Westminster bubble, and work every single day to earn back their trust.”
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