Will supporting Boris Johnson improve Suella Braverman’s chances of retaining a seat in parliament?

Minister of Internal Affairs Suella BravermanBattle to retain a Commons seat is heightened by claims her Remainer rival is ‘never trusted’ Boris Johnsonsupporters said last night.

They claimed Ms Braverman’s strong support for the ex-premier would count in her favor in the battle for a parliamentary seat with fellow Tory MP Flick Drummond.

As The Mail on Sunday revealed last month, a shake-up of constituency boundaries ahead of the next general election has left the two Tories compete to be the party’s nominee for the New Hampshire seat of Fareham and Waterlooville. The match has been dubbed ‘the Battle of Waterlooville’ by local Tory insiders who said that despite her lower profile, Ms Drummond could be selected by local party members.

But last night Hampshire supporters of the Home Secretary pointed out how incumbent Tory MPs seen as hostile to Johnson, including ex-cabinet minister Damian Green, failed to win seats amid grassroots anger over the expulsion of the former prime minister.

Mr Green denied last night that this was a problem in his selection battle. However, supporters of Ms Braverman – MP for the current Fareham seat – insisted that the staunch Brexiteer had not resigned, unlike some others on Mr Johnson’s ministerial team, even though she eventually told him to go.

In contrast, they said Ms Drummond – Member of Parliament for Meon Valley, Hampshire – had ‘never trusted’ Mr Johnson.

One said, “Flick is nice enough, but she’s a leftist at heart, an outspoken Remainer and couldn’t stand Boris – it’s a bit of a problem for her.” Friends of Ms Drummond, who served as a ministerial parliamentary aide during Johnson’s premiership, dismissed the allegations last night as ‘a bunch of nonsense’.

Ms Drummond told the MoS: ‘I served in his government with pride and did not resign from it until he announced he was leaving office. So I kind of wonder why anyone would think I wasn’t supporting them.’

Last night a local Tory said that while parts of the new constituency were ‘very pro-Boris’, Mrs Drummond had ‘worked her part of the constituency pretty hard’.

They added: “Suella has not worked very hard in her current seat, partly because of her cabinet position and responsibilities.”

There were reports last week that if Ms Braverman fails to beat Ms Drummond, she could face Tory MP Paul Holmes for the new seat in Hamble Valley – or be parachuted into the Windsor constituency being vacated by Adam Afriyie .

Will supporting Boris boost Suella’s hopes of winning the Battle of Waterlooville?