Boris is back

Well, as he said yesterday, he is going to go for it. This said, he is not going alone. International Development Secretary Rory Stewart and former Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey have also announced they will run and Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom has said she is "considering" doing so. Other widely touted possible contenders include former and current members of the cabinet, including Michael Gove, Amber Rudd, Sajid Javid, Dominic Raab, Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss, so the path is being paved for a momentous internal political battle which could split the Conservative party even more.

Eventually, the party has to whittle candidates down to two for the final face-off, but with so many names being chucked into the hat, it could be a bitter scrap for support from the one-time party faithful who have all become somewhat unfaithful and disenchanted with the party - many have already jumped ship. Boris is not going to have it easy.