Jeremy Hunt today claimed being Prime Minister is not “an enjoyable job” - but refused to rule out a fresh tilt for No10.
The former Health Secretary flopped in his bid for the Tory leadership three years ago, trounced by Boris Johnson in a vote of members.
The rebel ex-Foreign Secretary has since warned that Mr Johnson will lead the party to defeat at the next general election.
Asked if he believed the PM could win the next poll, he told the Institute for Government think tank: “I am on the record as saying no.”
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But he claimed revelations of lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street would not determine the ballot box result.
"The next election won't be decided on whether or not there were inappropriate parties in Downing Street during the pandemic,” he insisted.
"I think the next election will be decided on the economy - and the core reason that ordinary voters vote Conservative is because they think that we will look after the economy better and therefore there'll be better prospects for them and their families.
"But at the moment, because of all the global shocks that we've had, people don't feel that confidence.
“So I think that the biggest single challenge is to get the economy growing again.”
Mr Hunt swerved saying whether he still harboured ambitions to become PM.
“I don't think that job is enjoyable and I have loved my time on the backbenches, partly because it enables you to be reflective,” he claimed.
“We have to see what the circumstances are and then make the decision on that one."
Asked by the Mirror if he thought he could win a party leadership race and subsequent general election, he said: “I’m afraid these are very hypothetical questions which I wouldn’t pretend to have got my head round.
“But thank you for asking anyway.”
Mr Hunt’s latest intervention comes amid renewed backbench plots to oust Mr Johnson over a series of sleaze scandals.
