Boris rules out electoral pact with Farage
BORIS Johnson last night ruled out an electoral pact with Nigel Farage, as he pledged to restore the Tory Party’s battered fortunes in the UK.
At the final hustings of the Conservative leadership contest, Mr Johnson delivered an upbeat assessment of his ability to deliver Brexit and put the Tories back on track, telling activists: ‘The hour is darkest before the dawn, we’re going to turn this thing round.’
In a boisterous performance, which reflects his team’s increasing confidence of victory next week, he laughed off ‘absolutely outrageous’ claims that he dyes his hair and joked about his ability to manage money, saying: ‘I’ve certainly spent a lot.’
At one point he even brandished a kipper as he laid into ‘pointless, expensive, environmentally damaging’ EU rules.
However, in a message to Brexit hardliners, he stressed he would strain every sinew to get a new deal with the EU, warning that a major trade deal with the US could not be conjured up ‘in a trice’ – and could take many years.
Meanwhile, his leadership rival Jeremy Hunt last night appealed to supporters to make sure they voted before Monday’s deadline – and insisted he could still win.
Urging people to vote with ‘your heads as well as your hearts’, he added: ‘We believe the race is much closer than people think.’
Mr Johnson, the runaway favourite to succeed Theresa May next week, has prospered in the wake of the Brexit Party’s stunning success at the European parliament elections in May.
But last night he said he would never do a deal with Mr Farage, the anti-EU party’s leader. ‘I don’t think we should do deals with any party, we are the Conservative Party. We are going to restore trust and confidence.’
Pressed on the issue, he said: ‘I will rule it out. I rule it out.’
Mr Johnson told activists at London’s ExCeL centre he would go back to Brussels to seek a new deal. But he repeated that he is ready to take the UK out without a deal on October 31 if the EU refuses to make concessions.
The two candidates have battled it out at 17 hustings spread over 26 days. Voting closes on Monday evening and the next Tory leader will be announced on Tuesday morning.