Boris’s ‘One Nation’ leadership bid

BORIS JOHNSON has mounted a stealthy below-the-radar campaign to persuade Tory MPs that he is about ‘more than just Brexit’.

With the party on standby for a leadership contest if Theresa May steps down after Brexit, the former Foreign Secretary is discreetly courting MPs with his ‘One Nation’ political vision.

Mr Johnson is seen as the most popular choice to succeed Mrs May among party members but if Tory MPs do not vote him into a run-off of the final two candidates then the members will not get the chance to back him.

The 54-year-old set out his political credo in a speech to former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith’s Centre for Social Justice think tank last week. He told a group of 30-plus MPs that the Tories were ‘the party to promote social justice and equality’, as they did it ‘better than Labour’, adding: ‘Our One Nation Tory values will knock Corbyn out of the park.’

One MP said: ‘It came across as a clear Boris pitch to us that he was more than just a Brexiteer constantly agitating against Theresa May’s cop-out to Brussels.

‘There was a lot of talk about fighting crime, building infrastructure, expanding home owner- ship, cutting taxes, all that sort of thing. He called it a “narrative of confidence and belief” in the country. It wasn’t exactly subtle but it was pretty good.’

The Mail on Sunday revealed last month that the influential Brexiteer Jacob Rees Mogg was hosting ‘ Back Boris’ dinners for Mr Johnson at his £6 million London townhouse.

A spokesman for Mr Johnson declined to comment.