Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a surprise appearance in the British election campaign on Tuesday, issuing a last-ditch bid to rally support for the Conservatives and their leader Rishi Sunak, the man who helped turf him out of office.

Johnson won a big majority at the last election in 2019 before being forced to resign in 2022 by a Conservative mutiny which Sunak helped to start, and which exposed deep splits in the governing party, not least between Sunak and Johnson.

Greeted by chants of “Boris! Boris!” from party supporters two days before an election which the Conservatives are predicted to lose heavily, he introduced the current prime minister at a campaign event in London.

In a speech listing many of his own achievements, Johnson gave little personal endorsement to Sunak but focused on what he said were the dangers of the opposition Labour Party winning power.

“None of us can sit back as a Labour government prepares to use a sledgehammer majority to destroy so much of what we have achieved,” he said.

Acknowledging that some might be surprised to see him, he said he was glad to be asked to help by Sunak. “Of course I couldn’t say no,” he added.

“Whatever our differences they are utterly trivial by comparison with the disaster we may face if these so-called opinion polls are right,” Johnson said.

Johnson, one of British politics’ most recognisable figures and a proven election winner, has spent almost the entire campaign on the sidelines, having quit frontline politics in 2023. He has endorsed individual candidates in video messages but has not previously appeared at big campaign events.

Sunak, who appeared after – but not alongside – Johnson on the stage, thanked his predecessor.

“Isn’t it great to have our Conservative family united, my friends?” he said.

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (File Image)
| Photo Credit: AP

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was turned away from a polling station after forgetting to bring ID to vote in the U.K.’s local elections.

British media reported on May 3 that Mr. Johnson — who introduced the requirement for voters to provide ID with a photo when he was in office — was told by polling station staff in South Oxfordshire on May 2 that he would not be able to vote without proving his identity.

Sky News reported that Johnson, who served as Conservative prime minister from 2019 to 2022, was later able to cast his ballot and that he voted Conservative.

Mr. Johnson introduced the Elections Act requiring photo ID in 2022, and the new law was first implemented last year in local elections. But May 2 was the first time large numbers of voters across England and Wales have had to present ID, such as a passport or driving license, to vote.

The Electoral Commission said the vast majority of people were able to meet the new requirements, although it noted that some people who would have wanted to vote may have decided not to try because they did not have acceptable ID.

It also said there was evidence that some people, such as disabled people and the unemployed, found it harder to show voter ID.