Bring Back Boris activist calls for Johnson to be on ballot

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Health Secretary Stephen Barclay heaped praise on the Prime Minister as hailed his “huge skills” in the role. He said there was “unpredictability” about politics and that he was hopeful he would continue to “contribute to society” going forwards.

Mr Barclay has been one of Mr Johnson’s most loyal ministers, having served as his Brexit Secretary, Cabinet Office Minister and Downing Street Chief of Staff.

When ministers resigned en masse last month to force his downfall, the North East Cambridgeshire MP was among those consulted by the Prime Minister to discuss how he should respond.

And speaking about his future, he suggested a return to Downing Street could be on the cards.

“The pace of politics seems to have sped up and there is huge amounts of unpredictability,” Mr Barclay told The Telegraph.

“So I think it’s always dangerous to try and second guess what the future will bring.”

He added: “What I’m saying is the Prime Minister has huge skills which I’ve seen first-hand.

“What he chooses to do is an issue in terms of time and how things unfold.

“But, you know, I had the privilege to work very closely with him and saw his great skills as a communicator, the strategic direction he gave on big challenges.

“As we’ve said a number of times, he got the big calls right and that shows many of the skills he brought to the role.”

Fresh polling by YouGov today suggests voters believe neither of the candidates to replace Mr Johnson would make a better prime minister when compared to Sir Keir Starmer.

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The poll of 1,968 Britons from August 4 and 5 found when compared to the Labour leader, 28 percent of voters thought he would make a better leader.

Liz Truss polled at the same percentage, while Rishi Sunak was backed by 27 percent.

Many Conservative members still believe Mr Johnson should be in charge after his success in freeing the UK from the clutches of the EU, overseeing the success of the Covid vaccine rollout and leading the international effort against Russia’s Ukraine invasion.

Speaking of his abilities, Mr Barclay said: “What I do know, having worked very closely with the Prime Minister, is the strategic focus he has, which he really demonstrated on Ukraine.

“He very much, together with the Defence Secretary, led the thinking and challenged some of the thinking internally around our response, and built an extremely strong relationship with President Zelensky and showed real leadership on that issue.

“Likewise, he did in terms of driving the fastest vaccine roll-out, working with NHS colleagues and the vaccines taskforce.

“So in a number of areas he’s shown real leadership and obviously has great talents which I hope will contribute to society in different ways.”

The Tories will appoint a new party leader on September 5 with either Ms Truss or Mr Sunak taking over from Mr Johnson as Prime Minister on September 6.

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