“Bring Boris back!” Sarah Riley doesn’t have to think twice about that. If she had her way, the former Prime Minister would have returned to 10 Downing Street yesterday, to the official residence with the famous black front door.

Riley owns a flower shop in Ruislip, a west London suburb in Johnson’s constituency. According to the florist, they should never have sent Johnson away. She sees him as the ideal successor to Liz Truss, who after a chaotic reign officially became the shortest-serving Prime Minister in British history.

Isn’t she afraid the chaos will continue under a Premiership from Johnson, who has himself created the necessary scandals, including the illegal lockdown drinks in his official residence? Riley makes a dismissive gesture. “No. Everyone has been drinking illegally during the lockdown.”

Extremely divided reactions

Will Britain see Boris Johnson’s miraculous comeback? Bring Boris back, seems to be the official slogan of his campaign. Johnson was chased out of Downing Street with tar and feathers over the summer, but less than four months later he appears to be running for Prime Minister again. He has not yet officially run for office, but behind the scenes Johnson’s allies are pushing for him to succeed Liz Truss.

Boris Johnson is what the British are jam Politician after the well-known British spread. You either love it very much or you hate it to the core.

There is never a middle ground with Johnson. He repeatedly provokes extremely divided reactions. We see that in the flower shop too. As florist praises Riley Johnson, one of her customers begins to roll her eyes at hearing the former Prime Minister’s name. “If he becomes our prime minister again, I will emigrate.”

Riley and her client agree it’s a good thing Truss’ premiership has ended. Many households are having a hard time with the energy crisis and Riley is experiencing it firsthand.

“Flowers are a luxury product. When people save, the first thing they do is cut off buying flowers. We have rising costs and customers who are spending less and less.”

She was therefore furious with Truss, whose radical tax plans only exacerbated the economic problems. “It was shocking. We just needed stability.” And only Johnson, she says, can provide that stability. “He knows the job. He knows what to do.”

You can hear this sentiment from other small business owners like Andy Leftwich, who owns a carpet shop in Ruislip. “We are already struggling with constantly increasing costs. Truss’ plans have only created more uncertainty and fear. They’re a bunch of bunglers. It was like watching a comedy.”

All these scandals

Leftwich would also like to see Johnson return, but the prospect sparks disbelief from many residents in the constituency, such as retired Labor voter Bryan.

“Boris Johnson back? Not a good idea. All the scandals, all the lies. They kicked him out of government once. Why bring him back? I think a lot of Conservative MPs will leave the party then.”