Boris Johnson will stand again in Uxbridge at the next election, a source close to the former prime minister has confirmed, though this may mean he faces a tough fight to retain his seat in the Commons. The source said Johnson had decided to contest the west London seat for a fourth time, despite polling suggesting he would lose it to Labour if the election were held now. The decision, which was first reported by the Telegraph, could either result in a bruising exit from British politics, or pave the way for a dramatic return to the frontline, from which he recently said he was on “temporary hiatus”. Johnson stood down as prime minister earlier this year after a string of scandals, culminating in revelations about his deputy chief whip Chris Pincher, which led to a mass walkout by ministers. Since then he has led a varied backbench career, giving highly paid speeches around the world, going on holiday to the Caribbean and carrying out occasional constituency visits. This week his latest entry in the House of Commons register of members’ interests revealed he was still receiving £10,000 a month for housing from Lady Carole Bamford, the wife of the Tory donor Lord Bamford. He was also given a £4,000 secondhand bicycle by the president of Kurdistan. Earlier in the year he was paid £276,000 for a speech to American insurers. Despite his lucrative activities since leaving No 10, Johnson has made no secret about his desire to return. When Liz Truss resigned as prime minister in October, he flew back from holiday in the Dominican Republic to canvass Conservative MPs over a possible run for the leadership. He also raised eyebrows last month when he told a business event in Singapore he was on “temporary hiatus” from frontline politics. Even if Johnson does not run again for the leadership, his presence is likely to cause problems for Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, whom Johnson’s allies blame for unseating him when Sunak resigned as his chancellor. However, Johnson’s choice to stay in Uxbridge makes a possible path back to power more difficult. Recent modelling by the New Statesman shows Labour would win the seat easily if the election were held today, taking it by 52 points to 35. Joe Twyman, co-founder of the public opinion consultancy Deltapoll, said: “Uxbridge is going to be high on Labour’s target list next time around, and if the national polls stay where they are it should be very winnable for them. “We don’t know what impact Boris Johnson’s own reputation will have on the race though. There will be people who are more likely to vote for him than any other Conservative. But I suspect they will be outnumbered by those who are particularly motivated to vote against him.” The Tories’ worsening poll position had sparked speculation that Johnson would seek a different seat at the next election, which is likely to be held in 2024. He could even have to fight the Uxbridge seat earlier in a byelection if a Commons inquiry finds his misled MPs over the parties he attended in Number 10 during lockdown. Richard Mills, the chair of the Uxbridge Conservative association, told the Telegraph: “Uxbridge and South Ruislip Conservative Association fully support Boris Johnson as our local MP and candidate at any future election.” Many other Conservative MPs have in recent days announced they will stand down at the next election, including relatively young MPs such as Dehenna Davison, Chloe Smith and William Wragg.