Western Daily Press (Saturday)
DEMO GREETS CANDIDATES FOR NO 10
CONSERVATIVE Party members from Gloucestershire last night gathered at Cheltenham Racecourse as the Tory leadership contest entered its final furlong.
Plenty of well-backed favourites have found the famous Cheltenham hill a test too far - but it remains unclear if Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt will be the first past the finishing post.
Both candidates were greeted on arrival with the sight of anti-Brexit campaigners staked out at the entrance to the racecourse.
The Cheltenham for Europe group had orchestrated the protest and under the warm evening sunshine a colourful contingent made their opinions very clear.
Among those there were Gloucester MP Richard Graham, a supporter of Hunt, and Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk, who is backing Johnson.
One person not at the event, however, was Gloucester Conservative Association president and former city mayor Andy Lewis who said his mind was already made up having voted for Hunt.
“I voted for Jeremy because for the next Prime Minister I want a leader with a bit of substance behind him and experience,” he said.
“Jeremy has sorted out the NHS. He is a man who can operate and lead well. I have chosen him.
“Both Jeremy and Boris promise the same on leaving the EU, they are both good candidates - but I have heard enough to get to know Jeremy’s good points and I just feel he will be a safer pair of hands for our country.”
Ahead of the hustings event there was a flurry of excitement in the reception area to the main hall as security kept the doors closed until 10 minutes before the start.
Photographers waited for the pair’s arrival and supporters of Johnson handed out leaflets which stated he would deliver Brexit, unite the country and defeat Jeremy Corbyn.
The debate inside the Centaur was under starters’ orders as the Western Daily Press went to print last night.
Simultaneously, an eagerly-awaited broadcast of the two leadership hopefuls being grilled by the BBC’s Andrew Neil was being aired.
In that broadcast Jeremy Hunt refused to commit to taking Britain out of the European Union before Christmas, saying prime ministers should “only make promises they know they can deliver”.
The Foreign Secretary insisted it was possible to get a revised deal with Brussels by the end of September, and said if it took “a few extra days” to get it through Parliament he would delay Brexit beyond the October 31 deadline.
But, when pressed, he refused to say whether the UK would have left by Christmas, though claimed “it’s not going to be months”.
Mr Hunt has said that he believes he would be able to get a new deal with Brussels, but if that proved impossible, he would prepare for no deal on October 31, making a judgment on the best course to follow at the end of September.
Mr Johnson, meanwhile, faced an uncomfortable time being questioned about his perceived lack of support for Sir Kim Darroch, with Mr Neil repeatedly asking ‘why didn’t you stand up for our man in Washington?’.
The former Foreign Secretary and ex-Mayor of London was widely criticised for not backing Sir Kim after his comments about US President Donald Trump were leaked to the Mail on Sunday.
Sir Kim resigned as Ambassador to the United States and it was reported that Mr Johnson’s failure to publicly back him was a factor in his resignation.
Many Conservative Party members have already cast their vote in the leadership contest.
However, with the deadline not until next weekend, many West Tories will have waited until after the hustings event in Cheltenham to see if either candidate can sway their vote.
The winner will be announced on Tuesday, July 23.
See Monday’s paper for full report from the hustings.