Boris Johnson has been tipped to make a comeback as a Red Wall MP, according to Telegraph reports.
The former prime minister resigned on Tuesday, likening himself to Cincinnatus, a figure who “returned to his plough” at the end of his tenure.
According to legend, Cincinnatus returned to serve once again as Rome’s leader during a time of crisis as a dictator.
Historian Mary Beard pointed out that he was “also an enemy of the people”.
Advisers to the former prime minister are reportedly looking at whether he can move seats to a Northern constituency in a bid to mount his comeback.
There is an acceptance among senior Tory strategists that he could lose his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat to a big campaigning effort by Labour.
They fear dethroning Mr Johnson from the seat – which he held with a majority of 7,210 at the 2019 election – would be as symbolic as when Nick Clegg was pushed out of Sheffield Hallam by Labour in 2017.
One idea is to find a seat in the north of England to allow him to rebuild his base, and for him personally to repay the support of former Labour supporters who voted Tory for the first time in 2019.
One friend said: “He might go for a Northern seat. He has not resigned as an MP. I would think he would not fight Uxbridge, and he would in a Northern seat, a big Brexit seat.
“That could be the comeback for him, and he could do that before the next election. It is a great solution. He feels an obligation to the Red Wall voters. He said at the last election ‘I understand that you have lent me your votes in the Red Wall seats’.”
A source close to Mr Johnson did not rule out him moving seats but said nothing would be decided until after the effect of changes to the parliamentary boundaries are finalised in summer next year.
The insider said: “There will be a lot of MPs next year looking to move seats. But he is committed to his constituents.”
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