Boris Johnson will defend his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency seat at the next general election, a source has confirmed.
Since stepping down as prime minister in July he has returned to the backbenches, with speculation building he may follow the lead of former leader David Cameron in withdrawing from Westminster.
The Daily Mail reportedly approached Mr Johnson about writing a column for the newspaper, something he did in the Telegraph for a rumoured £270,00 annual salary for a weekly opinion piece. While this is yet to come to fruition, the 58-year-old could still earn a decent sum from the after-dinner speaking circuit, while his newly minted third marriage to Carrie Johnson – with whom he now has two children – should keep him occupied domestically.
But it seems like Mr Johnson is not ready to give up everyday politics just yet, and while he is still an MP he is eligible to stand as party leader. This is a prospect he flirted with in the race to replace Liz Truss, when he flew back from holiday in the Dominican Republic to take part in the competition.
That is all assuming Mr Johnson wins the west London seat. It has been a Conservative stronghold since its creation 2010, and the incumbent won a strong 52 per cent share of the local vote in 2019 as part of the Tory landslide result. However, in 2017 there was a majority of just 5,034, suggesting Labour could target the seat in 2024.
Labour currently has a 25 per cent lead in national polls, the party’s biggest advantage since Sir Keir Starmer took over. Should that lead translate into votes in the 2024 election, the Conservatives might face a tough task defending Uxbridge and South Ruislip as well as others with a smaller majority.
Mr Johnson looks set to mimic other former Tory prime ministers Theresa May and John Major by staying on in the Commons after leaving Number 10. Maidenhead MP Ms May in particular has been a vocal member of parliament from the backbenches, making her opposition known to the Johnson administration and also amusing the chamber with an anecdote about the Queen after the death of Elizabeth II.
