The man from Reform had barely sat down at our table at the French bistro when he leant forward conspiratorially and asked: ‘What’s Boris up to?’

The suspicion that Boris Johnson, Britain’s 55th premier, must be up to something is a familiar one. For the first time in several years, however, the question is interesting. And the fact that Reform is raising it gives a small insight into the current state of politics.

The query came just hours after Johnson had taken to Instagram to mark the tenth anniversary of the Brexit referendum, the defining moment of his career and of our politics since. The 17.4 million voters who backed the Leave campaign were right to do so, he said, before going on to hail the freedoms of Brexit. He then gave a speech to a dinner at the right-wing Arc conference, followed by an interview on GB News, the channel most viewed by the voters that the Tories and Reform are fighting over.

Reform high command is convinced that Johnson, along with Kemi Badenoch, is egging on Rupert Lowe

Reform high command is convinced that Johnson, along with Kemi Badenoch, is egging on Rupert Lowe

It is not surprising that Johnson should make a public intervention on such an occasion, but given that his Instagram presence is usually limited to appearances on his wife Carrie’s posts, riding bikes and playing with their four children, the method was notable. Since Johnson’s departure from No. 10, his primary goal has been ‘to put hay in the loft’, as his allies put it.

Whoever coined the phrase ‘Boriswave’ for the soaring of net migration to more than 900,000 on Johnson’s watch has probably sunk any chance Johnson has of........

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