Former Conservative leader Jeremy Hunt has suggested he could run for the top job ahead of the 2024 election, as he warned Boris Johnson that he had a “big mountain to climb” to win another term. .
Amid the aftermath of the Partygate scandal and after last week’s devastating local election losses, Hunt told the Times that this was not the “right time” to change leadership due to the war in Ukraine.
“But I would be very open with you that I do not rule out a return in the future,” he added.
Speaking to Times Radio, Hunt said the party’s “failures” in the local elections were not only “medium-term blues”, but reflected the cost of living crisis.
“To win the election, the Conservative Party must promise a well-funded NHS and the prospect of tax cuts. “If we make people choose between one or the other, we will not win the election,” he said. “I think we would be wrong to say that the Conservative Party’s failures are just medium-term blues and that there is a big mountain that needs to be climbed to win the next election.
Hunt, a former foreign and health minister, came second after Johnson in the Conservative leadership race in 2019, securing a third of the vote.
He resigned as foreign minister and rejected a proposal to be defense minister. Returning to the back benches, Hunt became chairman of the Health and Welfare Selection Committee. He was often critical of the government’s approach to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It was announced this week that the capital’s police had made about 50 additional references with fixed penalties as part of their investigation into possible parties for violating the blockade on Downing Street and Whitehall.
That brought the number of fines to more than 100 – with Johnson, his wife Carrie and Chancellor Rishi Sunak receiving notices of fixed sentences in April for a birthday party held at the prime minister’s office at No. 10 in June 2020.
In last week’s local election, the Conservatives suffered a net loss of 487 seats, while Labor won 108 and the Liberal Democrats 223. Commentators warned that the results showed that Johnson’s majority could be threatened in the next general election.
Ministers avoided asking if they still believed in the prime minister when asked about the latest developments when they left Stoke-on-Trent’s cabinet.
Interior Minister Priti Patel could not say whether she still supports Johnson, while Health Minister Sajid Javid also chose not to answer the question why the prime minister would not resign, despite Keira Starmer’s promise to do so if he a fixed fine notice for such allegations.
Brexit Opportunity Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, Culture Minister Nadine Doris and Education Minister Nadim Zahawi backed the prime minister.
There have been constant calls for Johnson to resign over the saga of opposition lawmakers and his own reservations, but he has repeatedly said he is determined to continue working.
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