London | The epic struggle to become Britain's prime minister has boiled down to a contest between Brexit hardliner Boris Johnson's call for his country to rediscover its optimism and "mojo" versus pragmatist Jeremy Hunt's insistence that Brexit is risky and difficult.

In the only televised debate of the month-long campaign for the Conservative Party leadership, which lasts until July 22, both contenders stuck to their basic Brexit guns - a departure on October 31, with or without a deal - but tried to focus on the mood music around their different tactics and objectives.