‘Bring Back Boris’ petition gains momentum following the sudden resignation of Liz Truss

Thousands of people have signed a petition calling for Boris Johnson to be reinstated as leader of the Conservative Party.

Johnson, 58, who reportedly set up a family home on the border of Herne Hill after leaving Downing Street, announced that he would be leaving his role as the leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the UK in July.

Within the next week a leadership election will take place to determine who will take on the role of the UK’s next Prime Minister - after Liz Truss’ officially stepped down.

The frontrunners so far for the Conservative leadership are Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson, Penny Mourdant, and Ben Wallace.

According to BBC estimates, Sunak has the most MPs declaring their support, with 43, to Boris Johnson’s 19 and Penny Mordaunt’s 15.

A ‘Bring Back Boris’ petition is gathering momentum after it was signed by more than 15,000 Conservative Party members and supporters within its first two days.

After five days the ‘Bring Back Boris’ Campaign has managed to gather more than 25,000 signatures.

The petition, which was launched by Conservative Post, claims that the former Prime Minister was “undemocratically ousted by a small cabal of MPs.”

It continues: “We the undersigned believe Boris is the only person who can save us from electoral catastrophe at the next General Election and demand he be given the opportunity to see out the manifesto we the people voted for.”

The Conservative Post Petition states that it will give all the signatures and messages directly to the Conservative Party Chairman, Jake Berry, on 15th November.

Liz Truss, 47, saw plummeting approval ratings following her mini-budget U-turn with ex-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng - who was replaced by Jeremy Hunt.

Truss apologised to Parliament, and admitted to having made mistakes in her short time as the United Kingdom’s head of government.

She also declared that she is “a fighter and not a quitter” amid backlash and opposition from members of her own party.

Currently the petition can be accessed on The Conservative Post’s website.

To sign it, you must provide your personal details, membership number (if you are a member of the party) and the option to add further comments.

According to The Conservative Post’s official Facebook page, as of Tuesday18 October, the petition reached nearly 15,000 signatures.

Former Conservative Party politician MP David Campbell Bannerman, mentioned the petition during an appearance on Good Morning Britain.

He said: “Boris is still very popular amongst members and all the polls show that the public still likes Boris. Boris is the only alternative.”

On the morning of Thursday, 20 October, Liz Truss met with Graham Brady, the head of the 1922 Committee od Conservative lawmakers.

The Committee is responsible for deciding whether a Prime Minister should face a confidence vote, and then organises an election for a new leader.

Following the meeting, it was revealed that Truss will be making an announcement outside No.10, to address the media and the nation.

Speaking outside No.10 Downing Street shortly after 1.30pm, Liz Truss announced that she has notified King Charles III that she is resigning as Prime Minister, and the leader of the Conservative Party.

“This morning I met the chairman of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady. We’ve agreed that there will be a leadership election to be completed within the week.”

“This will ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plan and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security. I will remain Prime Minister until a successor has been chosen. Thank you.”

Social media users have been divided if Boris Johnson should replace Liz Truss, with some taking to Twitter arguing that a new candidate should be given a chance to do the role.

One person wrote: “What happened to all those talented prospective leadership candidates ? Just a couple of weeks ago the Cons were crowing about their squad strength compared with Labours. You aren’t suggesting that was complete bull ?”

Another said: “No sorry. I backed him to the hilt during #partygate but we now need someone more rightwing than Boris to steer the ship successfully through the turbulence of global economic downturn. Boris, for all his dynamism on Brexit, is too liberal and centre leaning for me.”

A third added: “No never. Sorry. A PM of any country must have integrity and a moral standing. Just you cannot find a suitable candidate you cannot push him back as leader. Simply unacceptable.A general election is the natural choice where the British public decide not a handful of Conservatives”