On Monday, British lawmakers will vote on a damning report that exonerated the government of any wrongdoing in the disastrous "Partygate" affair by concluding that former prime minister Boris Johnson lied to parliament about lockdown-breaking parties. On his 59th birthday, while the wounded ex-leader mulls over his next move, the vote is being taken in parliament, with supporters believing Johnson will return to the electoral battle in the near future. It also occurs at a time when Rishi Sunak's Conservative government is facing increasing electoral difficulties as citizens feel the effects of high inflation and steadily increasing interest rates. Johnson, the populist who conceived of Brexit, swept to power as leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom's general election in December 2019. However, Partygate and other scandals ultimately led to his resignation as prime minister in July. Johnson has dismissed the Privileges Committee's report, calling it a "kangaroo court" and claiming he was set up by political opponents. His "repeated contempts (of parliament) and... seeking to undermine the parliamentary process" were detailed in a 106-page report released by the committee on Thursday. There is "no precedent for a prime minister having been found to have deliberately misled the house," according to the study, making the prime minister's disdain "all the more serious." The vote seemed to put an end to the Partygate affair, but on Sunday, a new video surfaced showing Tory party leaders celebrating in December 2020 while being under lockdown. When the public was forbidden from interacting with one another, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove issued an apology for a violation of the Covid rule. He called the video "terrible" and "indefensible" on BBC. A 90-day ban and the embarrassment of having to seek for re-election in his constituency were possible outcomes for Johnson had he not resigned from office on June 9. His closest allies are thought to be unfazed about the proposed consequence of revoking his parliamentary pass, even though they are likely to vote against the report. Johnson reportedly persuaded backers in private to vote for the report despite their reservations about the penalties, citing the lack of any real-world impact they would have. Johnson supporter and Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg speculated that the former prime minister could return to power in the future. "Perhaps, after the next election, Boris Johnson will return to the fray with a new electoral mandate," he wrote on Saturday in the right-leaning Daily Telegraph. "His undimmed ebullience and joie de vivre, combined with renewed sympathy from the electorate, many of whom think the privilege committee over-egged its pudding, leave him as a powerful force in politics," he continued. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss stated on Thursday that she would "never, ever, ever write Boris off." Truss briefly replaced Johnson as PM in September of last year. "I am sure we will hear more from him," she added, adding that she thought it was "very harsh" to contemplate denying his parliamentary clearance. Under-fire Four by-elections have opened up for Sunak, three of which are directly related to the Johnson scandal. These allow citizens to express their frustration with the government's handling of the cost of living crisis and inflation. MPs have been preoccupied with the Johnson incident, but experts have been sounding the alarm about a "mortgage time bomb" caused by interest rate hikes that show no sign of stopping. It would be simpler to convince the public that the government had moved on, said former Conservative minister Justine Greening to the BBC on Sunday, if MPs backed the report on Monday. She argued that the group should take a firm stance in favour of the privileges committee's efforts. Essentially, she said, "it's important to recognise that members of parliament, and especially prime ministers, cannot mislead parliament and be allowed to get away with that."