BoJo dodges visit north as he tries to woo party
Jennifer McKiernan Tory leadership frontrunner Boris Johnson yesterday dodged a chance to visit Scotland for the first time since Theresa May’s resignation.
His refusal to venture north of the Border came amid claims that his cautious campaign may cost him the keys to 10 Downing Street.
Johnson had briefed his inner circle that he was preparing to travel to Gretna or Dumfries before a hustings in Carlisle.
Tor y act iv ists in Dumfries & Galloway were pr imed for a possible meeting with the PM in waiting, who was yesterday priced at just 1-10 to win the Tory leadership contest.
Instead, he stayed s ou t h for pu b l i c appearances in Lancaster and in Cumbria.
Scotland has long been a problem for Johnson as he is disliked by both Tory leader Ruth Davidson and Scots Secretary David Mundell.
He is seen as toxic and a threat to the Union by some Tories while most SNP supporters believe he boosts the chances of a Yes vote in a second independence referendum.
Yesterday’s planned visit was to Mundell’s constituency but the Johnson camp insisted the former foreign secretary and London mayor had simply run out of time.
Johnson was due to travel to Gretna on the Scottish Border to meet local party members yesterday morning in a cafe in the town.
Instead he went straight to Carlisle for a two-hour hustings at 1pm with Jeremy Hunt before a similar event in Manchester with Hunt last night
A Johnson spokesma n sa id : “Unfortunately he could not make the event in Gretna for operation reasons and time overruns.“
A source said: “Boris is campaigning as if the leadership is his to lose.