Johnson drums up Cotswolds support ahead of hustings

» BORIS Johnson was in Gloucestershire ahead of the Conservative Party leadership hustings tomorrow (July 12) as he fights to become Prime Minister.

The front-runner to be the next leader of the Conservative Party was in Cirencester on Tuesday drumming up support in the county.

Mr Johnson appeared on his Twitter page in a Cotswolds field with a large crowd behind him.

The tweet read: “A huge amount of support here in Gloucestershire this afternoon!

“Working together we will leave the EU by October 31st, with or without a deal, so we can begin to unite our country and then defeat Jeremy Corbyn.”

Hustings for the Tory leadership will feature both Mr Johnson and his rival, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Details, including the proposed venue, are a closely guarded secret and party officials will only confirm that one of the hustings will be in the “Gloucestershire area”.

MPS for Cheltenham, Gloucester, Tewkesbury and the Forest of Dean – Alex Chalk, Richard Graham, Laurence Robertson and Mark Harper, respectively – said they would all provide a friendly welcome for the candidates.

Mr Harper himself took part in the leadership bid at the beginning of the campaign.

After kicking things off in Birmingham in June, Mr Johnson and Mr Hunt have both toured the country in their bid to secure support for the Conservative Party leadership.

The 160,000 members of the party have been able to vote in the leadership election since July 6.

The winner is expected to be announced on July 23, with Theresa May resigning as Prime Minister the following day.