Boris Johnson is privately urging Conservative MPs to back him for a dramatic return to Downing Street with a pledge that only he can win the Tories the next election.
The former prime minister is pressing Rishi Sunak to reach out and get back together in a remarkable olive branch after their public falling out at the top of government.
Mr Sunak was pulling narrowly ahead of Mr Johnson among Tory MP nominations on Thursday night in a bid to claim the leadership victory he missed last month.
Liz Truss quit on Thursday after just 44 days in Number 10, accepting the near total collapse of support among colleagues and becoming the shortest serving prime minister in British history.
In an 89-second resignation speech in Downing Street, Ms Truss admitted: I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party.
Sunak leads declarations
The battle to replace Liz Truss is already raging, with Tory MPs declaring for Mr Sunak, Mr Johnson and Penny Mordaunt, the House of Commons leader.
Mr Sunak was leading on 29 Tory MP declarations on Thursday night, followed by 24 for Mr Johnson and 11 for Ms Mordaunt.
More candidates are weighing a launch but time is limited. Only MPs who secure nominations from 100 of the close to 360 Tory MPs will make it into the first round.
The hopefuls have until 2pm on Monday to gather the numbers. The final two candidates – if there are two who get above the threshold – will go to a members’ vote, with a winner declared next Friday.
The news that Mr Johnson, ousted from office after more than 50 ministerial resignations just three months ago, was considering joining the race immediately split Tory MP colleagues.
There are doubts over whether Mr Johnson can hit the 100 MP threshold given how support drained from him earlier this year. Party chiefs had to deny the rules were designed to block him.
Also looming is the Privileges Committee investigation into whether Mr Johnson misled MPs about lockdown-breaking social gatherings in No10 dubbed “Partygate”. It is set to start gathering evidence within weeks.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, reacted to Ms Truss’s departure by declaring: We need a general election now. Labour sources say they will keep making the demand.
They need to take the fight to Labour
The Telegraph can reveal that Mr Johnson has put his ability to win elections he secured the biggest Tory majority for three decades in 2019 at the heart of his pitch.
An ally of Mr Johnson told the Telegraph: If the Tories are serious about winning in 2024 and want to stop a general election before then they need to revert to the guy with a mandate who is a seasoned campaigner.
They need someone to take the fight to Labour. There’s no point going to a yellow box junction without knowing how you are going to get out of it. Rishi should make contact and work out how the two of them can get back together.
Joy and despair among Tories
Mr Johnson is flying back from a holiday in the Caribbean as early as Friday and a meeting of backers for a campaign led by Jacob Rees-Mogg is being organised for Saturday.
No prime minister has returned for a second stint after leaving office since Labour’s Harold Wilson and before that Sir Winston Churchill, Mr Johnson’s British political icon.
An outpouring of support from a rump of loyal Johnson supporters broke out online. Hope you enjoyed your holiday boss. Time to come back, tweeted Tory MP James Duddridge.
But others in the party were left despairing. Some threatened to quit the party and trigger by-elections. One moderate Conservative ex-minister said: If that ego-on-sticks becomes leader of the Tory party I will surrender the whip. Many of us will not stand for that man’s leadership.
Tory MP John Baron said: I would find it impossible to serve under Boris.