‘Surely … not again’: what the papers say about Johnson and the Tory leadership race

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The Conservative party leadership race fills newspaper front pages with a focus on the possible return of Boris Johnson to the top job.

Rishi Sunak, whose backers claim he has passed the threshold of 100 MPs needed to get on the ballot paper, also featured prominently as the contest intensified.

The Guardian has “Tory tribes go to war”, reporting Johnson was gaining ground while former chancellor Sunak remained the favourite to become the party’s leader.

The Mail splashes with what it describes as “the tantalising question” above the headline “Could Boris and Rishi now unite to save Tories?”.

The Sun says “Boris breaks silence” and runs the headline “I’m up for it!” alongside a smiling picture of the former PM.

The Express carries the same line with “Boris: I’m up for it … we are going to do this”.

The Mirror’s take is “Surely … not again” above a picture of Johnson and his wife, Carrie, on holiday in the Caribbean. It reports the former PM’s No 10 hopes “sparked fury among bereaved Covid families” as the paper started a petition for a general election.

The FT reflects concern over Johnson’s potential leadership bid with its headline “Investors and MPs alarmed by the idea of Johnson’s return to No 10”.

The Times says “Johnson ‘will prove fatal'”. Beneath the headline the paper writes ‘Hague warns of Tory death spiral and calls former PM’s return worst idea in 46 years’.

The i newspaper splashes with “Britain’s next PM: Sunak leads Johnson”.

The Telegraph runs a picture of the former chancellor and the headline “Sunak races to secure majority of Tory MPs”.

And the Star moved to a new “salad-based pun,” writing “They have tossed aside The Lettuce, now they’re serving up … The Aubergine”.