Is boris already looking for the exit? Some mps think so: analysis

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On his first public appearance since his holiday, the Prime Minister spoke with characteristic energy and zest when dismissing claims that his health is below par and plotting an early exit


from Downing Street. Despite his denial, rumours about his future have been circulating among Tory MPs throughout the summer.  Some worry the 56-year-old premier has been left exhausted by


the huge challenge of the response to the coronavirus pandemic and his own debilitating brush with the disease. One Tory MP told me: “It wouldn’t surprise me if Boris finished off Brexit at


the end of the year and then handed over the job to someone else. “He does not look happy and seems to have lost his mojo.” The MP added: “The illness has clearly taken its toll. All prime


ministers seem to age quickly in office but Boris looks like he’s put on 20 years in six months.” The idea that such an ambitious politician, who as a child declared his ambition to be


“world king”, should already be contemplating retiring from leadership just nine months after a landslide election win seems fanciful. Yet the Government’s spate of U-turns and sliding


opinion poll ratings is breeding restlessness and doubts about the future among Tory backbenchers.  When the Commons returns next week and Prime Minister’s Questions resumes, they will want


to see Mr Johnson prove that he is fighting fit and still hungry for the job.