Brexit supporter Johnson far ahead in contest to replace British PM

By Elizabeth Piper, Kylie MacLellan and William James

 

PM hopeful Boris Johnson leaves his home in London, Britain, June 13, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Boris Johnson, who has pledged to deliver Brexit on Oct. 31, surged closer to power on Thursday, winning by far the most support from Conservative lawmakers in the first round of the contest to replace Prime Minister Theresa May.

 

Three years since voting 52%-48% to leave the European Union, the United Kingdom is heading towards a possible crisis over Brexit as most of the candidates vying to succeed May are prepared to leave on Oct. 31 without a deal.

 

While parliament has indicated it will try to stop a no-deal Brexit, which investors warn would hurt financial markets and the world economy, some of those running say it may be the only way for Britain to leave the bloc without further delay.

 

Johnson, the face of the official campaign to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum, won the support of 114 Conservative lawmakers in the first round of the contest to replace May. A total of 313 lawmakers voted.

 

"Thank you to my friends and colleagues in the Conservative & Unionist Party for your support. I am delighted to win the first ballot, but we have a long way to go," Johnson said on Twitter.

 

His closest rivals were: Jeremy Hunt, the foreign minister, who won 43 votes; Michael Gove, environment minister, with 37 votes and Dominic Raab, former Brexit minister, on 27 votes.

 

Sajid Javid, interior minister, came fifth with 23 votes. Matt Hancock won 20 votes and Rory Stewart 19. Three were knocked out: former leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom, Mark Harper and Esther McVey.

 

Betting markets give Johnson, who has a long record of scandals and gaffes, a 70% probability of winning the top job.

 

SECOND ROUND

Johnson, a former London mayor and foreign minister, has spent weeks wooing Conservative lawmakers, staying out of the spotlight with a low-key campaign at odds with his flamboyant publicity stunts of the past.

 

But his spokesman, while celebrating a higher-than-expected number of supporters, said there was still "a long way to go in the contest and you have to hold the numbers to go into the next rounds and that's the challenge".

 

The second round is due on June 18 with further ballots planned for June 19 and June 20 until there are just two candidates. A postal ballot of the wider Conservative Party membership will then be held to pick a leader.

 

A new prime minister should be chosen by the end of July. There had been speculation that the contest could be accelerated due to Johnson's strong lead but there was no immediate sign of rivals bowing out of the race.

 

Some were quick to make veiled warnings about the frontrunner.

 

Hunt, who has pitched himself as a unifier of both Brexit-supporting and pro-EU Conservatives, warned members of the party that "the stakes have rarely been higher for our country". "This serious moment calls for a serious leader," he tweeted.

 

Stewart, who has criticised Johnson for making promises on Brexit he cannot keep, voiced optimism about his campaign: "This is amazing - we're getting some real momentum here ... It's increasingly clear it's me against Boris. And let's win."

 

Finance minister Philip Hammond, who has not publicly endorsed a candidate, wrote on Thursday to all remaining leadership contenders to urge them to stick to existing budget rules until at least the next scheduled election in 2022.

 

Johnson has proposed cutting income tax to 20% from 40% for those earning 50,000-80,000 pounds ($65,000-$105,000), while Gove has suggested replacing value-added tax on goods and services with a narrower sales tax.

 

Johnson kicked off his official campaign on Wednesday with a pledge to lead Britain out of the European Union on Oct. 31 and a warning to his divided Conservative Party that "delay means defeat".

 

"After three years and two missed deadlines, we must leave the EU on October 31," Johnson, 54, said then. "I am not aiming for a no-deal outcome."

 

Johnson, whose unconventional style has helped him shrug off a series of scandals in the past, has won over much of his party by arguing that only he can rescue the Conservatives by delivering Brexit.

 

He argues that if Britain is prepared for a no-deal Brexit, the EU will bend to his argument to remove the so-called Northern Irish backstop to prevent a return to a hard border with Ireland if there is no agreed future trade deal.

 

But the EU has refused to renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement reached with May last November and Ireland has said it is not willing to change the backstop.

 

On Wednesday, the European Commission said: "In light of the continued uncertainty in the United Kingdom ... and the overall domestic political situation, a 'no-deal' scenario on 1 November 2019 very much remains a possible - although undesirable - outcome."

 

(Additional reporting by David Milliken; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Stephen Addison and Janet Lawrence)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-06-14

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Good.  We're on the right track now.....

I think that the EU is tired of all these fruitless negotiations and is preparing for the " NO DEAL " by now .

Edited June 14, 20197 yr by nobodysfriend

7 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

I think that the EU is tired of all these fruitless negotiations and is preparing for the " NO DEAL " by now .

They have done that already. Check the recently published Communication of 12 June 2019: “State of play of preparations of contingency measures for the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union”. 

 

Whereas recently leaked papers from the UK government show that the UK would need another 4-8 months to prepare (only paywall link: https://www.ft.com/content/a678db62-8ce9-11e9-a24d-b42f641eca37). 

57 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

I think that the EU is tired of all these fruitless negotiations and is preparing for the " NO DEAL " by now .

Let's hope so, the sooner the better for everyone

McVey was the best of the candidates IMO. Boris is a flawed buffoon (I DO like the man!) but may yet have the ability to pull this off. If he fails the party will be extinct and UK's next PM will be Farage.

 

Michael Parkinson once said of George Best that 'the only man he couldn't beat was himself'...

Edited June 14, 20197 yr by evadgib

Boris will win but I prefer Stewart or Hunt. Luckily for any of them Labour is all over the place and Corbyn a 1970s left over.

9 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

Boris will win but I prefer Stewart or Hunt. Luckily for any of them Labour is all over the place and Corbyn a 1970s left over.

If that was Colonel Bob I might agree but he didn't throw his hat into the ring and might even bat for the other side lol

Edited June 14, 20197 yr by evadgib

Be afraid.

Be very afraid.

People laugh at Trump being the POTUS and how Americans are embarrassed by his cretinous idiocy.

Well, Boris Johnson as Prime Minister of Great Britain and N Ireland is a disaster waiting to happen.

And every educated nation on the planet will just snigger behind his back once he's opened his buffoon mouth with his latest gaff.

Jesus the world has gone to pot.

I despair for mankind, i really do.

The Goldfish’s choice.

 

He sounds great if you’ve already forgotten what he said five minutes before.

Be afraid.
Be very afraid.
People laugh at Trump being the POTUS and how Americans are embarrassed by his cretinous idiocy.
Well, Boris Johnson as Prime Minister of Great Britain and N Ireland is a disaster waiting to happen.
And every educated nation on the planet will just snigger behind his back once he's opened his buffoon mouth with his latest gaff.
Jesus the world has gone to pot.
I despair for mankind, i really do.

It is possible that within the next 12 months..there will be a GE.
Then watch the Brexit Party go from strength to strength.
If there is a GE..it probably would be a hung parliament with the tories going cap in hand to the DUP and the Brexit Party.
Time will tell.

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

Johnson has proposed cutting income tax to 20% from 40% for those earning 50,000-80,000 pounds.

 

What a vote catcher down at the food bank????

3 minutes ago, malagateddy said:

It is possible that within the next 12 months..there will be a GE.
Then watch the Brexit Party go from strength to strength.
If there is a GE..it probably would be a hung parliament with the tories going cap in hand to the DUP and the Brexit Party.
Time will tell.

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

43000 Leave supporters failed to turnout to vote for the ‘Brexit Party’ in one single constituency.

 

How that translates to Brexit going from strength to strength needs explaining.

9 minutes ago, malagateddy said:

It is possible that within the next 12 months..there will be a GE.
Then watch the Brexit Party go from strength to strength.
If there is a GE..it probably would be a hung parliament with the tories going cap in hand to the DUP and the Brexit Party.
Time will tell.

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

If there is a GE, surely the wise Tory MP will simply go full Brexit with the added attraction of policies other than Brexit? I think they will have learnt the lessons of the EU elections - beat the Brexit Party at their own game. 

7 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

Johnson has proposed cutting income tax to 20% from 40% for those earning 50,000-80,000 pounds.

 

What a vote catcher down at the food bank????

And he is going to pay for it through rises in National Insurance. Income Tax in Scotland is devolved to the Scottish Gov but NI is not; a gift to the Nats who are now gleefully pointing out that Johnson is proposing to raise NI in Scotland to pay for tax cuts for rich English people. 

If there is a GE, surely the wise Tory MP will simply go full Brexit with the added attraction of policies other than Brexit? I think they will have learnt the lessons of the EU elections - beat the Brexit Party at their own game. 

But then the " wise " tory mp would have his voting history etc examined and any non brexit voting/statements would obviously be flung in his/her face.
Also ..I think that the Brexit Party will come out with an attractive manifesto..eg..slash tv licence fee and free tv licences for senior citizens of 65 years and older.
Slash foreign aid BIG TIME etc.
Think bout it..right now the UK taxpayer is giving money to countries that have nuclear capability..you couldn't make it up.

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24 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

Be afraid.

Be very afraid.

People laugh at Trump being the POTUS and how Americans are embarrassed by his cretinous idiocy.

Well, Boris Johnson as Prime Minister of Great Britain and N Ireland is a disaster waiting to happen.

And every educated nation on the planet will just snigger behind his back once he's opened his buffoon mouth with his latest gaff.

Jesus the world has gone to pot.

I despair for mankind, i really do.

Rubbish

43 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

Johnson has proposed cutting income tax to 20% from 40% for those earning 50,000-80,000 pounds.

 

What a vote catcher down at the food bank????

Would like to see the counter-financing in the budget. Think there is none only hot air. This is rather his new 350 million bus lie.

Sincere condolences to the UK for its foam batons.

Edited June 14, 20197 yr by tomacht8

57 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

And every educated nation on the planet will just snigger behind his back once he's opened his buffoon mouth with his latest gaff.

Yes, Stazi Merkel and Oedipus Macron are the thinking mans leaders.

Edited June 14, 20197 yr by BritManToo

50 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The Goldfish’s choice.

 

He sounds great if you’ve already forgotten what he said five minutes before.

The good news is that he has obviously found his way back to his barber shop.

42 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

Johnson has proposed cutting income tax to 20% from 40% for those earning 50,000-80,000 pounds.

 

What a vote catcher down at the food bank????

...or for the veterans, who within the last few weeks have been (rightly) praised and pictured with politicians, only to be told that they are now going to have to pay for a TV licence again (a form of tax), whilst Bozo proposes a very big tax cut for himself.

2 minutes ago, tomacht8 said:

The good news is that he has obviously found his way back to his barber shop.

...all he needs to do now is lose 4 stone, and get the address of David Cameron's tailor! Then again, Boris will always be Boris, and I don't believe all the rubbish about it all being just an act, or that he's as clever as he likes to say he is. Boris was on a radio show some years ago, the host had three standard IQ test questions to ask him, Boris got them all wrong.

51 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

If there is a GE, surely the wise Tory MP will simply go full Brexit with the added attraction of policies other than Brexit? I think they will have learnt the lessons of the EU elections - beat the Brexit Party at their own game. 

You seem to forget the referendum was an attempt to pull the rug under UKIP, all its achieved is to expose the rift in the Tory Party.  

7 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

...all he needs to do now is lose 4 stone, and get the address of David Cameron's tailor! Then again, Boris will always be Boris, and I don't believe all the rubbish about it all being just an act, or that he's as clever as he likes to say he is. Boris was on a radio show some years ago, the host had three standard IQ test questions to ask him, Boris got them all wrong.

George W Bush had an IQ rating of over 120, and that is limited to just 10% of the population........need I say anymore?

7 minutes ago, vogie said:

George W Bush had an IQ rating of over 120, and that is limited to just 10% of the population........need I say anymore?

Donald also reckons he's like Einstein. Do we have any proof of Bush jnr's IQ or results of his IQ test? He never came over as being particularly bright, rather like Mr Reagan.

14 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

...or for the veterans, who within the last few weeks have been (rightly) praised and pictured with politicians, only to be told that they are now going to have to pay for a TV licence again (a form of tax), whilst Bozo proposes a very big tax cut for himself.

So how exactly is Boris Johnson responsible for people over 75 being charged for a TV licence? The decision was taken by the BBC themselves.

 

What big tax cut are you talking about, surely not the one regarding cutting tax from 40% to 20% for those earning between 50-80,000 pounds?

 

Johnson gets paid 275k a year for writing a newspaper column, I think if you get your calculator out you'll find that takes him well out of the 50-80k tax band.

 

If he becomes prime minister his salary will be 158k, again, well outside of the tax bracket that he's proposing changes to. One last thing, if he does become prime minister he's no longer allowed to write a column for any newspaper so he'll be giving up 275k a year.

1 minute ago, Andrew65 said:

Donald also reckons he's like Einstein. Do we have any proof of Bush jnr's IQ or results of his IQ test? He never came over as being particularly bright, rather like Mr Reagan.

Do you have any proof of the radio show that purports Boris getting 3 easy IQ questions wrong.

1 minute ago, nahkit said:

So how exactly is Boris Johnson responsible for people over 75 being charged for a TV licence? The decision was taken by the BBC themselves.

 

What big tax cut are you talking about, surely not the one regarding cutting tax from 40% to 20% for those earning between 50-80,000 pounds?

 

Johnson gets paid 275k a year for writing a newspaper column, I think if you get your calculator out you'll find that takes him well out of the 50-80k tax band.

 

If he becomes prime minister his salary will be 158k, again, well outside of the tax bracket that he's proposing changes to. One last thing, if he does become prime minister he's no longer allowed to write a column for any newspaper so he'll be giving up 275k a year.

The gvt is ultimately responsible for the BBC and how it's funded, and if you're telling me that that need not be the case, I don't believe you any more than I believe any politician (weasel-words). Another thing being, it sounds like you believe what Boris says, when he's been shown to be a liar in the past.

Conveniently this tax-band has MP salaries just inside the proposed cuts, although the expenses that they steal from the public purse are probably are tax free, of course.

Britain still has a national debt of around £2 trillion (a similar amount to Italy), how are Boris' tax cuts going to change this?

25 minutes ago, vogie said:

Do you have any proof of the radio show that purports Boris getting 3 easy IQ questions wrong.

This report is from the Daily Telegraph, his current employer:

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/london-mayor-election/mayor-of-london/10490792/Take-the-IQ-quiz-that-Boris-Johnson-failed.html

 

Boris Johnson has admitted that IQ is not the “only measure of ability” after failing to give a single correct answer when he was tested.

The Mayor of London said in a speech that 16% of "our species" had an IQ of less than 85 and just 2% over 130 before adding "the harder you shake the pack, the easier it will be for some cornflakes to get to the top.”

The comments lead to criticism that he viewed human beings as “a breed of dogs.” However when he was given his own IQ test on his regular LBC Radio slot “Ask Boris” he did not give a single correct answer to the questions put to him.

Clearly unhappy to answer the questions by presenter Nick Ferrari Mr Johnson was combative in his answers. Asked how many apples he would have if he took two apples from three apples, the Mayor replied: "You've got loads of apples mate, you've got one apple left."

Mr Ferrari replied: "You say you've got one apple? You haven't, you've got two apples."

He added: “You didn't get any of the IQ questions right so who are you to lecture about IQ, Mr Mayor?"

"No one has said that IQ is the only measure of ability but what I have been saying repeatedly is that our system is letting down people who do have ability and could do much better," Mr Johnson replied.

Senior members of the coalition have been quick to distance themselves from Mr Johnson’s comments in his speech last week at the Margaret Thatcher lecture

Edited June 14, 20197 yr by Andrew65

1 hour ago, thaiguzzi said:

Be afraid.

Be very afraid.

People laugh at Trump being the POTUS and how Americans are embarrassed by his cretinous idiocy.

Well, Boris Johnson as Prime Minister of Great Britain and N Ireland is a disaster waiting to happen.

And every educated nation on the planet will just snigger behind his back once he's opened his buffoon mouth with his latest gaff.

Jesus the world has gone to pot.

I despair for mankind, i really do.

Got it in one. Problem is that while this idiot is feeding his ego the country goes even further into the mire.

Taking the currency with it.