Posted on

Sky News Say Televised Debate will be Cancelled as Boris Johnson Refuses to Take Part

Sky News have said that Boris Johnson has refused to accept an invitation to appear in a televised debate with Jeremy Hunt, which would have allowed both candidates to make their case to become leader of the Conservative Party.

Sky News said:

“Jeremy Hunt has agreed to take part, but Boris Johnson has so far declined the invitation. We stand ready to host a debate tomorrow evening if both candidates make themselves available.”

A spokesperson for Jeremy Hunt’s campaign team said:

“Whoever wants to be Prime Minister must face up now to the intense scrutiny that comes with the job, anything less is deeply disrespectful to our members. Trying to duck debates and run down the clock until after postal ballots have been returned is just cynical and complacent. Boris Johnson must stop trying to slink into No 10 through the back door and come clean about his programme for government.”

Posted on

Conservative Split After Boris Johnson Refuses to Explain Domestic Incident

Boris Johnson, one of the two candidates in the race to become leader of the Conservative Party, has said that he isn’t prepared to talk about a domestic incident at this property on Friday. Johnson said that “people don’t want to hear” about the incident and refused to comment when asked during an interview with Iain Dale.

Liam Fox, the Secretary of State for International Trade, said:

“I think it’s always easier to just give an explanation and the key thing is then how you get onto the issue”.

John Griffin, the second largest donor to the Conservative Party, said:

“We deserve an explanation about that row, and he has to handle it properly. He can’t assume that we are going to support him when he has not explained every detail”.

Posted on

Guardian Reports Disturbance at House of Boris Johnson

The Guardian newspaper has reported of a domestic disturbance at the property where Boris Johnson is currently living with his partner Carrie Symonds.

The newspaper reported:

“The neighbour said they recorded the altercation from inside their flat out of concern for Symonds. On the recording, heard by the Guardian, Johnson can be heard refusing to leave the flat and telling Symonds to “get off my fucking laptop” before there is a loud crashing noise.

Symonds is heard saying Johnson had ruined a sofa with red wine: “You just don’t care for anything because you’re spoilt. You have no care for money or anything.”

The neighbour said: “There was a smashing sound of what sounded like plates. There was a couple of very loud screams that I’m certain were Carrie and she was shouting to ‘get out’ a lot. She was saying ‘get out of my flat’ and he was saying no. And then there was silence after the screaming. My partner, who was in bed half asleep, had heard a loud bang and the house shook.””

Boris Johnson, who is currently favourite in the race to become the next leader of the Conservative Party and the Prime Minister, refused to comment.

Posted on

Dominic Raab Eliminated in Tory Leadership Contest

Dominic Raab has been knocked out following the second round of voting in the Conservative Party leadership contest. Boris Johnson secured the most votes, but Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Rory Stewart and Sajid Javid have all made it through to the next round.

Boris Johnson – 126 votes

Jeremy Hunt – 46 votes

Michael Gove – 41 votes

Rory Stewart – 37 votes

Sajid Javid – 33 votes

Dominic Raab – 30 votes

Posted on

Chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum Would Quit if Johnson Becomes PM

Mohammed Amin, the chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum, has said that he would resign from his role if Boris Johnson becomes leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister. The group was founded in 2005 and aims to set out Conservative values to the Muslim community, as well as representing the views of the community to the party.

Amin said on BBC Radio:

“I have been a Conservative Party member for over 36 years. We don’t expect our politicians, our prime ministers, to be saints but we do require a basic level of morality and integrity. Of all of the candidates in the Conservative Party leadership election, Boris Johnson is the only one that I believe fails that test. And I’m not prepared to be a member of a party that chooses him as its leader.”

Posted on

Results of First Ballot in the Conservative Party Leadership Contest

The results of the first round of the Conservative Party leadership contest have been announced today. The winner in the first round was Boris Johnson, the former Foreign Secretary, with Andrea Leadsom, Mark Harper and Esther McVey all being eliminated.

Boris Johnson 114 votes – 36.4%
Jeremy Hunt 43 votes – 13.7%
Michael Gove 37 votes – 11.8%
Dominic Raab 27 votes 8.6%
Sajid Javid 23 votes 7.3%
Matt Hancock 20 votes 6.4%
Rory Stewart 19 votes 6.1%
Andrea Leadsom 11 votes 3.5% (Eliminated)
Mark Harper 10 votes 3.2% (Eliminated)
Esther McVey 9 votes 2.9% (Eliminated)

Posted on

Mark Harper Becomes Latest Conservative to Stand for Leadership

Mark Harper, the Conservative MP for the Forest of Dean, has become the twelfth candidate to put his name forwards for the leadership of the Conservative Party.

The current candidates are now:

James Cleverley
Michael Gove
Matt Hancock
Mark Harper
Jeremy Hunt
Sajid Javid
Boris Johnson
Andrea Leadsom
Kit Malthouse
Esther McVey
Dominic Raab
Rory Stewart

Posted on

Three More Candidates Join Conservative Leadership Contest

Three more candidates have joined the contest to become the next leader of the Conservative Party, bringing the current number of candidates to eight.

Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Andrea Leadsom, the former Leader of the House of Commons, and Dominic Raab, the former Brexit Secretary, have declared their candidacies over the last day. The five already announced candidates were:

Rory Stewart – the Secretary of State for International Development

Jeremy Hunt – the Foreign Secretary

Matt Hancock – the Secretary of State for Health

Boris Johnson – the former Foreign Secretary

Esther McVey – the former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Posted on

Five Candidates Join Race to Become Next Conservative Leader

Five candidates have so far joined the Conservative Party leadership contest, following yesterday’s resignation announcement by Theresa May, the Prime Minister.

Although more candidates are expected to announce their intentions to stand, the current five who have confirmed their plans include:

Rory Stewart – the Secretary of State for International Development

Jeremy Hunt – the Foreign Secretary

Matt Hancock – the Secretary of State for Health

Boris Johnson – the former Foreign Secretary

Esther McVey – the former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Posted on

Boris Johnson Confirms He Will Stand in Tory Leadership Contest

Boris Johnson, the former Mayor of London and Foreign Secretary, has confirmed that he will stand in the next contest for the leadership of the Conservative Party. The news comes amid rumours that Theresa May, the Prime Minister, is expected to soon announce the date of her departure.

Asked at the BIBA conference in Manchester whether he’d stand, Johnson said:

“I’m going to go for it. Of course I’m going to go for it. I don’t think that is any particular secret to anybody. But you know, there is no vacancy at present.”

He added:

“There’s no vacancy. On the other hand, what I will say is that there has been a real lack of grip and dynamism in the way we’ve approached these talks.

We’ve failed over the past three years to put forward a convincing narrative about how we exploit the opportunities of Brexit. All I can say, as tactfully and usefully as I can, is that I have a boundless appetite to try to get it right, and to help the country to get on the right path.”