Johnson gets further lift in UK premier race
Leadsom declares backing for ex-rival
LONDON: Boris Johnson got a further boost in his campaign to become Britain’s prime minister yesterday when a second former rival in the race backed him to lead the country out of its Brexit crisis.
Hours before the six contenders to replace Theresa May were due to be whittled down by the party’s lawmakers, Andrea Leadsom declared her support for Mr Johnson, the clear favourite.
“He is the best placed to get us out of the EU at the end of October,” Ms Leadsom, a former leader of the House of Commons who was eliminated from the leadership contest last week, told LBC radio. “Secondly, I do believe he is an election winner.”
On Monday, health minister Matt Hancock, who quit the race on Friday, also backed Mr Johnson, despite their contrasting views on Brexit, saying he was almost certain to win the contest.
Mr Johnson, a former London mayor and foreign minister, has given unequivocal statements that he will take Britain out of the European Union (EU) by Oct 31 whether or not an agreement can be struck with the bloc to smooth the transition.
“We must leave the EU on October 31st, with or without a deal,” Mr Johnson wrote again on Twitter yesterday.
“It looks like Boris Johnson is going to be the next prime minister unless there is a big surprise and that indicates a looming confrontation with the European Union,” said Lee Hardman, a FX strategist at MUFG in London.
Mr Johnson was due to participate in a televised debate yesterday evening along with the candidates who survive the second round of voting.
Those who do not receive the backing of more than 33 of the 313 Conservative lawmakers will be eliminated. If all candidates have more than 32 votes, the one with the fewest is eliminated.
Mr Johnson opted not to appear in a first debate on Sunday and stayed away from question-and-answer sessions in parliament that the other five candidates attended on Monday.
His rivals kept up their calls on Mr Johnson to spell out his plans for Brexit in more detail.
“What I find alarming and I want to try to clarify as soon as possible, hopefully in these debates this evening, is that half the people in his campaign have got the impression that he intends to leave on Oct 31 with no deal,” Rory Stewart, Britain’s aid minister, told BBC radio.
“And the other half seem to have got the impression that he’s going for the softest of soft Brexits. The only way that we are going to have stability in our government, or our party or our country, is if people trust us.”
But, barring a major upset, he looks set to make the final two in the race, when mainly pro-Brexit Conservative Party members will cast the deciding votes in July.
Mr Johnson’s willingness to contemplate a no-deal Brexit could set up a clash with parliament which has voted against such an outcome. Brussels has ruled out a re-negotiation of the Withdrawal Agreement, the divorce deal it reached with Ms May last year.
Mr Johnson won the support of 114 Conservative lawmakers in the first round of the leadership contest. The result of yesterday’s second round was due around 6pm local time.