With supporters calling for “Bring Boris back” and critics calling it “an insult” to the British people, an anticipated bid by Boris Johnson to become British Prime Minister again has stirred an already boiling political pot.

By declaring “hasta la vista baby” during his final Question Time in Parliament on July 20, Johnson had already made it clear that he still had work to do.

According to The Times, he intends to join the race to succeed Liz Truss as he believes it is in the “national interest”.

On Twitter, some conservatives tried to make the hashtag #BringBorisBack go viral Thursday after Truss announced her resignation.

Tory MP Brendan Clarke-Smith told Sky News that the next Prime Minister needs “a mandate” from voters and party members. He should be “someone who can actually be a winner,” he said.

“Boris Johnson is the man who ticks all of those boxes.”

But Tory MP Roger Gale highlighted the split and said Johnson should be barred from running as he is still under parliamentary scrutiny over the “Partygate” scandal that brought him down.

“Until this investigation is completed and he is found guilty or acquitted, there should be no way for him to return to government,” Gale said.

Opposition leader Keir Starmer reiterated his view that Johnson was “unfit” to govern.

“So when they walk away from this experiment, this mess, this economic damage, and rewind three months to a man who was deemed unfit for the post, I think that just adds another insult to the public,” he told the BBC.

But any of Johnson’s remaining ambitions this time will be up against the Conservative Party’s high bar for leadership candidates – at least 100 nominations from each Tory MP.

“I don’t think MPs want to go back and vote for the same person that they drummed out of Downing Street a few months ago,” Tim Bale, Professor of Politics at Queen Mary, University of London, told AFP.

“Two-thirds of voters wanted him to resign. It’s fantasyland to think voters want him back,” he added.