Boris Johnson thinks the Tories could have averted July’s disastrous general election performance by keeping him in power.
The former prime minister stood down in 2022 after being hit with a spate of resignations by top Cabinet officials in response to a series of scandals and a no confidence vote.
One particularly damning resignation was Johnson’s Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, who would later lead the Tories to a dismal defeat after succeeding Liz Truss.
Speaking on GB News, Johnson lamented Sunak’s “mistake” and insisted the party would have fared significantly better had they not turned on him.
Boris Johnson says Sunak turned on him at a 'critical time'
GB NEWS
“Sadly, there was an outbreak of irrationality in my party, and I think they made the wrong calculation”, he said.
“We had the fastest vaccine roll-out of any European country. We helped to protect the independence of another European country in a way that I don’t think would have happened if I hadn’t been there.
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Boris Johnson joined Camilla Tominey on GB News
GB NEWS
“We had neighbourhood crime down 31 per cent. Was it all a terrible mistake to kick me out? Yes. I think it was and I think it was a goof. I think he [Rishi Sunak] was badly advised.”
Asked about his relationship with the former prime minister, Johnson told Camilla Tominey: “He was a close colleague and a friend who turned on me in a particularly critical time.
“I thought it was a mistake. It was worse than a crime, it was a mistake. And so it proved.”
“I think we would [have won the general election], I think we would have had a very good shot.
Boris Johnson joined Camilla Tominey to discuss his new memoir Unleashed
GB NEWS
“We were only a handful of points behind in the polls, nothing like the huge gaps that opened up.
“And Reform was on zero.”
In his new autobiography Unleashed, Johnson claimed the drubbing suffered by the Tories was down to Sunak.
The party was left with a mere 121 seats after Labour stuck the boot in after a 14-year period on the periphery.
“Why did we do so badly in 2024?” he asked before answering himself: “It was pretty obvious. We junked the agenda on which we were elected, and turned our back on many of the people who put us in power.”