Upset Conservative party members are demanding a vote to reinstate Boris Johnson as party leader so he can return as Prime Minister.
More than 2,000 of them have written to the party’s chairman Andrew Stephenson, demanding to be heard.
They want Boris Johnson's name to be added to the ballot when 160,000 members vote for a new leader next month and have said "there is anger towards the parliamentary party" who ousted him from No 10.
The petition is being organised by Tory donor Lord Cruddas of Shoreditch and David Campbell Bannerman, a former MEP.
The petition, being circulated on the Conservative Post website reads: "Back in 2019, Boris Johnson was elected by the membership to be our new leader.
"Now that choice has been changed without referral to the people that elected him, the loyal and hard-working membership of the Conservative Party.
"I accept that there are current rules in place that we will have a choice between the final two candidates but that is not the point because our first choice has been removed without our involvement.
"You cannot disenfranchise the membership from the whole process from the beginning as this is open to abuse by the parliamentary party who may have vested interest reasons and grievances to settle against our leader, which has been the case with the current process."
It ended: "Let me tell you that morale amongst the membership is low and there is anger towards the parliamentary party.
"I demand Boris Johnson be added to the ballot as an option for the members to vote upon in the forthcoming election."
Speaking to the Telegraph, Lord Cruddas said: "The membership wants the option of voting for Boris on the final ballot.
"We think it is only fair because Boris was the members’ choice back in 2019 and he has been constructively removed by the parliamentary party without referral to the membership.
"By adding Boris to the final ballot to make it a three-horse race means that the winner will have the backing of the membership.
"There will be no ambiguity around the result and the final choice of leader will have integrity.
"The membership will also feel they have not been disenfranchised from the process.
"This is about democracy for party members and the 14 million people that voted for Boris at the last general election and the 17.4 million people that voted to leave the European Union."
The rules of the contest have been agreed by the 1922 Committee party and will see the final two leadership hopefuls chosen later today.
