In the midst of growing rumors that he will run for the Conservative leadership to become prime minister once more, the former British prime minister Boris Johnson returned to the country on Saturday.
Despite the fact that the legislature was in session, Johnson was on vacation in the Dominican Republic.
He reportedly informed allies that he wants to run for office, according to local media.
The action, which has not yet been officially acknowledged, has shown stark splits within the ruling Conservative Party, with some MPs — including a number of past and current Cabinet ministers — fervently supporting him to run, while others have threatened to leave the party if he does.
Following a string of scandals, including being found guilty of violating his own COVID-19 lockdown regulations, Johnson was dismissed by his MPs just six weeks ago.
There can only be three candidates for the leadership position due to new party regulations that require candidates to receive at least 100 nominations from their fellow MPs by Monday at 2 p.m.
The second main candidate who has been mentioned is Rishi Sunak, who served as Johnson’s Treasury Director but has not yet made a formal declaration of candidacy.
Despite the fact that the Conservative parliamentary party as a whole is moving against Sunak, he still enjoys the support of a large number of MPs, including senior figures. However, Johnson supporters detest Sunak and blame him for Johnson’s demise.
Johnson and Sunak each enjoy greater support from the party faithful than from their fellow MPs.
Both Johnson and Sunak’s campaigns have crossed the 100 MP threshold, according to sources who spoke to the local media.
The third contender, Penny Mordaunt, who presently serves as the leader of the House of Commons, the British parliament’s lower house, is the only one to have formally declared her candidacy for the position.
She is reportedly having trouble getting to the required 100 MPs, with Johnson and Sunak dominating the race despite neither of them having formally declared their candidacies.
She participated in the most recent leadership contest that saw Liz Truss, the incumbent, elected prime minister. In that competition, Mordaunt placed third.
Truss became the shortest-serving British premier in history on Thursday, leaving office after only 44 days.