Brexit the main game in leadership battle

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt have clashed over who could be most trusted on Brexit in a sometimes bad-natured TV debate.

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt during the TV debate. Picture: AFP

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, rivals to become Britain’s next prime minister, clashed over who could be most trusted on Brexit in a sometimes bad-natured television debate.

With Mr Johnson ahead in the race to replace Theresa May, both were asked repeatedly to prove that they would take Britain out of the EU on October 31 and would protect business from a so-called no-deal Brexit.

More than three years since Britain voted to leave the bloc, Brexit is dominating the race, with both candidates trying to point out the other’s weaknesses.

Mr Johnson, a former London mayor, raised questions over Mr Hunt’s commitment to leaving on the ­October 31 deadline, while Mr Hunt, the Foreign­ Secretary, critic­ised Mr Johnson for relying on what he said was nothing more than optim­ism to win a deal.

“I think it’s very, very important not to envisage any circumstances in which we would fail to come out of the EU on October 31,” Mr Johnson told the debate on ITV.

Asked repeatedly whether he would quit as prime minister if Britain failed to leave by the ­deadline, Mr Johnson refused to ­answer directly, saying: “I don’t want to hold out to the EU the prospect that they might encourage my resignation by refusing to agree a deal.”

That prompted Mr Hunt to accuse­ his rival of avoiding direct answers and relying on nothing more than optimism to win a new deal from the EU, or to leave without­ a deal, which would hurt businesses across Britain.

“Because Boris never answers the questions, we have absolutely no idea what his premiership would be like,” Mr Hunt said.

The debate was the only head-to-head meeting between the two candidates. Conservative Party members are submitting their postal ballots to appoint the new leader of their party, and the leader of the country, who will be announce­d on July 23.

With Mr Hunt lagging in the polls, he has gone on the offensive, spending much of the hour-long debate accusing Mr Johnson of never answering questions. Some in Mr Johnson’s team say his lead is all but unassailable, and would be at risk only if their candidate committed a major mistake, something, based on the laughter and applause from the studio audience, that he avoided.

Many Conservative supporters say the most important argument is who can take Britain out of the EU on deadline, with or without a deal. The one thing that did separate the two contenders was Mr Johnson’s refusal to rule out suspending parliam­ent to force through a no-deal Brexit, while Mr Hunt said he would not resort to such a move.

Even when asked to what they most admired in their opponent, neither offered much praise.

Mr Johnson said, “I’ve worked very well with Jeremy over many years, I greatly admire his ability to change his mind”, a reference to Mr Hunt’s support for the Remain campaign in the Brexit referendum.

Mr Hunt shot back sarcastic­ally: “He has this great ability — you ask him a question, he puts a smile on your face and you forget what the question was. It’s a brilliant quality for a politician, maybe not a prime minister though.”

Reuters