Conservative leadership candidates’ Kent pledge
The two candidates vying to become the next Prime Minister and Conservative party leader have pledged to ensure Kent is not left out of pocket when it comes to paying any Brexit bills.
Several hundred Conservative activists packed into the Kent Event Centre at Detling last Thursday to see Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson take part in the 12th of 16th meetings in the campaign.
With just days to go before the ballot papers are counted, Boris Johnson remains favourite to take on the job of leading the party and he received plenty of support from the audience.
But it was not an easy ride and Jeremy Hunt, who was widely thought to have had the better of his rival in the only head-to-head televised debate, performed better than some expected.
Prior to the hustings, Mr Johnson made his second visit to the county for a rally of supporters in Dover - perhaps seeking to capitalise on the symbolism of the White Cliffs. Both candidates acknowledged that Kent faced challenges in the event of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal but insisted contingency measures originally expected to be used in March remained in place.
Mr Johnson, who says the UK will leave on October 31 come what may, said the Port of Dover was “fantastically well-prepared” but acknowledged there was a case for “major improvements” to the road network, such as dualling the A2.
“Shouldn’t we be doing some vital road improvements here in the Garden of England? What about dualling the A2, for instance?” Mr Johnson told the audience. Asked if the costs of contingency Brexit plans - such as Operation Brock on the M20 - would be met by the government, he said: “Of course, we will make sure that Kent is ready. We will do everything to help Kent.”
Mr Hunt also expressed confidence in the Brexit contingency plans under Operation Brock: “Government preparations are in a much better state than they were a year ago. I am confident we will be able to maintain smooth flow of traffic through ports - I may regret saying that - I know you have a problem with the M20.” The rival candidates made familiar commitments if they were elected. Mr Johnson told the audience that he was the candidate who could bring the Conservative Party together. “My experience is people just want to get this (Brexit) done - people can see that we won’t recover as a party for years if we don’t. If I have one criticism it is that we haven’t been quite dynamic enough over the last three years. Politics has changed and hundreds of people have drifted away from the party. MPs understand that.” Jeremy Hunt joked: “I discovered that the mayor of Maidstone gave the death penalty to Charles I and I am hoping you will be a bit more generous to the runner-up in this contest because I want Boris in my cabinet”