The two finalists to become Britain’s prime minister made their pitches to party members.

Johnson talks determination while Hunt touts negotiation skills

LONDON — The two finalists in the race to lead Britain’s governing Conservative Party — and become the country’s new prime minister — made their first formal pitches to party members Saturday.

Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary and London mayor and current runaway favorite of Tory lawmakers, faced off with Jeremy Hunt, the current foreign secretary, at a Conservative conference in central England’s Birmingham.

“We need to get Brexit done” and be prepared to leave the European Union without a withdrawal deal in place, Johnson told the audience.

“I am here to tell you that in all confidence we can turn this thing around,” he said. “I am utterly convinced that with the right energy and the right commitment, common sense will prevail. But just in case it does not, we must prepare to come out anyway.”

Johnson has won backing from the Conservative Party’s die-hard Brexiteers by insisting the U.K. must leave the bloc on the rescheduled date of Oct. 31, with or without an agreement with the EU to smooth the way.

Both Johnson and Hunt said they would succeed in seeing Britain out of the EU, a challenge that defeated Prime Minister Theresa May. She quit as Conservative leader this month after repeatedly failing to win Parliament’s backing for her Brexit deal. She will leave 10 Downing Street when her successor is selected.

Hunt pitched himself as the better negotiator, warning that “catastrophe awaits” if the wrong leader is sent to Brussels for talks with EU leaders.

“If we send the wrong person, there’s going to be no negotiation, no trust, no deal, and if Parliament stops that, maybe no Brexit,” he said. “Send the right person, and there’s a deal to be done.”

For the party conference in Birmingham, both contenders were given time to make a short speech before answering questions from the host and audience members.

The Saturday “hustings” session was the first of more than a dozen such party meetings set to take place across Britain in coming days.

Johnson refused to comment when asked about a police visit early Friday to the London home he shares with partner Carrie Symonds after a neighbor reported an altercation.

The Guardian newspaper said neighbors reported hearing screaming, shouting and banging inside the home. The responding officers found all the occupants “safe and well” and no legal offenses were committed, police said.

The winner of the runoff, due to be announced the week of July 22, will become the new Conservative leader and prime minister.

Boris Johnson

Jeremy Hunt