The world has moved on from Boris Johnson, Grant Shapps says

A senior cabinet minister today said the “world has moved on” from Boris Johnson –as Rishi Sunak’s party seeks to move on from a weekend of turmoil triggered by his resignation.

Grant Shapps, who also served in Mr Johnson’s cabinet, poured cold water on a comeback for the former prime minister, despite his 1,000-word exit statement leaving the door open for a return to Westminster.

Mr Shapps said the Tory party “don’t miss the drama” of a Johnson administration, adding bluntly: “I’m sure he’s got many other things he wants to get on and do.”

He added: “There is no kind of chance of him coming back and saying, ‘Right, now I’m going to stand again’. From what I understand, even he has said he doesn’t want to do that.”

Mr Johnson dramatically quit as an MP on Friday, claiming he was the victim of a “witch-hunt” by a parliamentary committee tasked with investigating whether he mislead parliament over lockdown parties in No.10.

In an furious outburst, in which he attacked the committee and Mr Sunak, Mr Johnson said he was leaving parliament “for now”.

The days since have been rife with speculation about whether he could try to stand elsewhere at the next general election, with ally Jacob Rees-Mogg, who was honoured in Mr Johnson’s resignation list, claiming the former PM could “easily get back into Parliament at the next election” – meaning he would return next year.

Asked about Mr Johnson’s future, Mr Shapps told Sky News: “He has decided to step down and a couple of my other colleagues, all of them whom I’ve worked with and Boris in particular.

“But … the world has moved on. He is the one who has removed himself from the current political scene, standing down as a member of Parliament. We’ve got excellent leadership in place in No 10 with Rishi Sunak.”

The cabinet minister added: “People both in the Conservative Party and outside don’t miss the drama of it all.”

Mr Shapps also dismissed suggestions that Mr Johnson might want to re-stand as an MP, saying he had only just quit.

“Whether Boris Johnson will ever want to stop and I would never want to predict. The party has very clear processes in place for anybody who wants to stand for the party. It would be entirely a matter for the party itself,” he said.

A top pollster also warned that the ex-prime minister’s career is “over” for now on account of his unpopularity with the public.

Asked about the prospects for a comeback by Mr Johnson, Ben Page, the chief executive of pollster Ipsos Mori, said: “His time is over in politics for the moment.”

“Let’s just be frank, two out of three people think he’s lied and misled parliament,” he explained.

“When we asked people which prime minister they think did a good job or a bad job, Boris Johnson tops the bad job list by some margin.

“Even among Conservative voters, the dwindling band of Conservative voters, many more say that Sunak would be a better prime minister than Johnson.”

Allies of the former prime minister however suggested he was far from done.

“We need more people like Boris Johnson, not fewer. My tip, head to Ladbrokes and put a fiver on him coming back, maybe even before the next election,” Tory MP Sir James Duddridge, wrote in the Sun on Sunday.

And Mr Johnson’s former Brexit negotiator Lord Frost wrote in the Sunday Telegraph: “We don’t know where he will be back or when. But I’m sure the story is not over.”

Labour leader Keir Starmer on Saturday night urged Rishi Sunak to call a snap election while other opposition figures accused Mr Johnson of acting like a “baby-man” and blaming his mistakes on everyone else.

Pat McFadden, Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme that the ex PM had clearly not been forced out of parliament by the committee as claimed.

“It just triggers a recall petition where he could face the voters,” he said.

“But the truth is he didn’t want to face any of the verdicts because he can never accept responsibility for his own actions.

“That’s true of all these right-wing populist leaders. They are like bab-men. Whenever anything goes wrong, it is everybody else’s fault.”