Boris Johnson gets boost in race to become Britain's new PM

[webfact]

Boris Johnson gets boost in race to become Britain's new PM

By Guy Faulconbridge and Elizabeth Piper

 

Conservative Party leadership candidate Boris Johnson gestures as he talks during the launch of his campaign in London, Britain June 12, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Boris Johnson got a boost in his campaign to replace British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday when one of his former rivals and EU supporter Matt Hancock backed him saying he was almost certain to win the contest.

 

Johnson, a former London mayor and foreign minister, is way out in front in the race to become leader of the Conservative Party and despite so far deciding to steer clear of debates with his rivals, his popularity has yet to be dented.

 

Most of the other five hopefuls concede that Johnson, whose career has been marked by gaffes and scandals, will almost definitely make the final two in the race, when mainly pro-BrexitConservative Party members will cast the deciding votes.

 

But the race is on to decide who will challenge him.

 

Health Secretary Hancock, who dropped out of the race on Friday after winning 20 votes in the first ballot of Conservative lawmakers, said Johnson was the best candidate to lead the party.

 

"Boris has run a disciplined campaign and is almost certainly going to be our next prime minister," Hancock said in an article in The Times newspaper, which tapped him as a strong contender to become finance minister.

 

"My view is that we need to start coming together sooner rather than later."

 

Johnson, the face of the official campaign to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum, has promised to lead the United Kingdom out of the EU with or without a deal. But parliament has indicated it will try to stop a no-deal Brexit, which investors warn could roil markets and shock the world economy, while the EU has said it will not renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement that May agreed.

 

According to economists polled by Reuters, the likelihood of a no-deal exit has jumped in the past month.

 

TWO-HORSE RACE

Almost three years since Britain voted to leave the EU, the country, the parliament and both main parties are still deeply divided over Brexit. But all of the Conservative leadership contestants agree they must take Britain out of the bloc.

 

Johnson won the support of 114 of 313 Conservative Party lawmakers in the first round of the leadership contest. The second round is on Tuesday with the result due around 1700 GMT.

 

Any candidate with 32 votes or fewer is eliminated. If all candidates have more than 32 votes, the one with the fewest is eliminated.

 

For the other five, the fight was on to prove they had what it takes to challenge Johnson, or at least test some of his arguments.

 

"This is a two-horse race, and we know one of these horses - it's Boris ... There is literally only one question you have to answer, who is likely to beat Boris?" international development minister Rory Stewart said in an appeal to other lawmakers who he needs the support of.

 

"He (Boris) doesn't, as far as I can see, he doesn't have a plan. I say as far as I can see because he doesn't talk to me, he doesn't talk to you, he doesn't talk to the public," said Stewart, who is now placed second favourite.

 

Environment minister Michael Gove also took a dig at Johnson, saying his absence from Monday's hustings in Westminster was described to him as being like "Hamlet without a prince".

 

"And of course we all remember that at the end of Hamlet, he isn't the king," Gove added.

 

If Johnson does win the top job and does go for a no-deal Brexit, a constitutional crisis could be on the horizon if parliament tries to block such a departure.

 

Pro-Brexit candidate Dominic Raab has said parliament could be suspended if necessary, a possibility he refused to rule out on Sunday in a debate with other contenders.

 

But the speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, said it was fantasy to think that the lower house of parliament could be pushed aside.

"It's a joke!" Bercow told French newspaper Le Figaro in comments reported in French. "The idea that the British parliament can be pushed aside when such a crucial decision is to be made is fantasy."

 

(Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Additional reporting by William James and Richard Lough in Paris; editing by William Schomberg and Janet Lawrence)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-06-18

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[legend49]

Just give Boris a comb over and voila, we have book ends with the Orange haired buffoon in USA.

[Bluespunk]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Health Secretary Hancock, who dropped out of the race on Friday after winning 20 votes in the first ballot of Conservative lawmakers, said Johnson was the best candidate to lead the party.

If that indeed is the case, that statement alone shows just how low standards have sunk. 

[Chomper Higgot]

Perhaps Johnson told Hancock what Hancock wanted to hear:

 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jun/17/boris-johnson-accused-of-making-mps-contradictory-brexit-promises

[ballpoint]

The UK stands tottering at the brink of an abyss.  And Boris will be the man to lead them forward.

[chilli42]

I grew up in one if the dominions do perhaps none of my business.  Do many great men/women have held the post of  Prime Minister over the course of history.  Even when not quite great they were at least capable.  It’s quite shocking to imagine a buffoon like this bring Prime Minister.  My sympathies.

[Scott]

Off-topic, troll post reported and removed.  

 

[Orton Rd]

2 hours ago, legend49 said:

Just give Boris a comb over and voila, we have book ends with the Orange haired buffoon in USA.

He could have been the American president as he was born in the USA and did not renounce his citizenship until 3 years ago. He speaks fluent latin, French and Italian and is the author of several books with a classics degree from Oxford University. He is anything but a 'buffoon'

[tomacht8]

The UK government and the UK parliament are currently the most expensive clown circus in the world.

 

The entrance tickets are fully financed by the UK taxpayers and should be booked as indirect Brexit entertainment costs.

[Proboscis]

6 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

He could have been the American president as he was born in the USA and did not renounce his citizenship until 3 years ago. He speaks fluent latin, French and Italian and is the author of several books with a classics degree from Oxford University. He is anything but a 'buffoon'

He is fluent in French and Italian but no one speaks Latin fluently as there are too few speakers around with whom to practice. His command of latin phrases is good, probably better than his knowledge of ancient greek (he studied both in his classics degree). There is no doubt that he has some academic skills although he never managed to get a first at Oxford, which would be the indicator of an academic mind.

 

The trouble about Johnson is that he is inclined to say what people want to hear and also to say some of the most inappropriate things. They have been well-rehearsed in the media so no need to mention them here. The concern would be that he lacks the sort of moral courage to do the thing that might be unpopular with a considerable number of people. In other words, while he undoubtedly has popularity, he lacks leadership.

[dick dasterdly]

23 minutes ago, tomacht8 said:

The UK government and the UK parliament are currently the most expensive clown circus in the world.

 

The entrance tickets are fully financed by the UK taxpayers and should be booked as indirect Brexit entertainment costs.

Surely that honour falls on the eu?

 

Moving the circus every month between Brussels and Strasbourg??

[howbri]

3 hours ago, legend49 said:

Just give Boris a comb over and voila, we have book ends with the Orange haired buffoon in USA.

That "orange haired buffoon" is running circles around his communist opposition. MAGA. TRUMP 2020

[tomacht8]

42 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

Surely that honour falls on the eu?

 

Moving the circus every month between Brussels and Strasbourg??

The EU Parlament has 751 seats for 512 million inhabitants.

The UK Parlament has 650 seats for 66 million inhabitants.

Calculating the parliamentary cost per inhabitant gives a ratio of 1.4 to 9.8.

 

Organizational quality and functioning decision-making ability are not considered at all.

 

I stick to my statement:

The UK government and the UK parliament are currently the most expensive clown circus in the world.

Edited June 18, 2019 by tomacht8

[vogie]

11 minutes ago, tomacht8 said:

The EU Parlament has 751 seats for 512 million inhabitants.

The UK Parlament has 650 seats for 66 million inhabitants.

Calculating the parliamentary cost per inhabitant gives a ratio of 1.4 to 9.8.

 

Organizational quality and functioning decision-making ability are not considered at all.

 

I stick to my statement:

The UK government and the UK parliament are currently the most expensive clown circus in the world.

So are you justifying the EUs travelling circus and wasting of money is part and parcel of the EU.

 

The “travelling circus” shuttle sees 750 MEPs and 3,000 administrative staff make the round trip to conduct business in the French city for four days a month. They are followed by lorries carrying 2,500 plastic containers of files.

The Court of Auditors report reveals calculations that taxpayers across Europe would save more than £2billion over the next 50 years if the MEPs stayed put.

There would also be a one-off windfall of £490million if the Strasbourg buildings were then sold off. The buildings are said to cost £50million a year in upkeep.

The Conservatives, who are campaigning to have the practice stopped, put the cost higher at around £130million.

Edited June 18, 2019 by vogie

[tomacht8]

4 minutes ago, vogie said:

So are you justifying the EUs travelling circus and wasting of money is part and parcel of the EU.

 

The “travelling circus” shuttle sees 750 MEPs and 3,000 administrative staff make the round trip to conduct business in the French city for four days a month. They are followed by lorries carrying 2,500 plastic containers of files.

The Court of Auditors report reveals calculations that taxpayers across Europe would save more than £2billion over the next 50 years if the MEPs stayed put.

There would also be a one-off windfall of £490million if the Strasbourg buildings were then sold off. The buildings are said to cost £50million a year in upkeep.

The Conservatives, who are campaigning to have the practice stopped, put the cost higher at around £130million.

Accepted. On the cost side there is a lot savings potential.

 

But how do you see the parliamentary seat ratio, organizational quality and the ability of decision-making of the UK Parliament of the last 3 years?

Everything is perfect or what?

 

[vogie]

6 minutes ago, tomacht8 said:

Accepted. On the cost side there is a lot savings potential.

 

But how do you see the parliamentary seat ratio, organizational quality and the ability of decision-making of the UK Parliament of the last 3 years?

Everything is perfect or what?

 

Nothing will ever be perfect when you have people spending other peoples money, but basically what I'm saying is that people that live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

Edited June 18, 2019 by vogie

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, Orton Rd said:

He could have been the American president as he was born in the USA and did not renounce his citizenship until 3 years ago. He speaks fluent latin, French and Italian and is the author of several books with a classics degree from Oxford University. He is anything but a 'buffoon'

You mistake a first class education as a barrier to buffoonery. 

[tomacht8]

44 minutes ago, vogie said:

Nothing will ever be perfect when you have people spending other peoples money, but basically what I'm saying is that people that live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

Everything is relative.

Others see that Brexit has led to

the greatest British political crisis of
modern times.

 

 

[BobBKK]

Boris is funny and eccentric but I'm amazed anyone thinks he'll be a better leader than Hunt or outsider Stewart.

[vogie]

4 minutes ago, tomacht8 said:

Everything is relative.

Others see that Brexit has led to

the greatest British political crisis of
modern times.

 

 

You say things as if the EU are immune from any fallout. The majority of the British were not happy in the way which the EU was morphing, we saw and heard Verhofstadt and didn't like what we heard. Too much control was not necessary.

[vogie]

1 minute ago, BobBKK said:

Boris is funny and eccentric but I'm amazed anyone thinks he'll be a better leader than Hunt or outsider Stewart.

Hunt and Stewart are remainers, remainers have done enough damage already.

[observer90210]

Most of us judge a book by the cover helas.....like the Boris or not, he definately has more charisma, personality and brains then the previous house keeper of Downing St !!

[Jane Dough]

Boris will bring back the fun to British politics. They will need some belly laughs as the pound drops ever closer to 27 baht.

 

Happy days,

 

Rooster

[Chomper Higgot]

2 minutes ago, vogie said:

You say things as if the EU are immune from any fallout. The majority of the British were not happy in the way which the EU was morphing, we saw and heard Verhofstadt and didn't like what we heard. Too much control was not necessary.

Are you now claiming that everyone who voted Leave did so because they 'were not happy in the way which the EU was morphing'?

 

That's a remarkable claim, where did you get the data to support it?

[Chomper Higgot]

2 minutes ago, vogie said:

Hunt and Stewart are remainers, remainers have done enough damage already.

It's always somebody else's fault.

[BobBKK]

Just now, vogie said:

Hunt and Stewart are remainers, remainers have done enough damage already.

Ya I'm a Remainer too... bring on the Second Ref

[vogie]

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

It's always somebody else's fault.

If you are classing "somebody else's" fault as remainers, you would not be too far from the truth.

[vogie]

4 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

Ya I'm a Remainer too... bring on the Second Ref

Well you kept that a secret, nobody would have guessed you were a remainer.

You can't have a "once in a lifetime" referendum twice, it just doesn't sense now does it.

[Laughing Gravy]

22 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

Ya I'm a Remainer too... bring on the Second Ref

I hope you are not too old as maybe waiting a long time.

[tebee]

2 hours ago, Benroon said:

.....

 

Degrees are overrated, it merely means you study well - Diane Abbott has a first degree from Cambridge yet planned to pay the police £3 a year, then £300, then £13, then £600, if Labour got into power, not even the simplest of mathematical questions could she get right, and every interview is a car crash - so shall we leave it there ?

Diane Abbott has a 2:2 in history from Cambridge, rather like Theresa May who got a 2:2 in Geography from Oxford.

Boris managed a whole 2:1 in  ancient literature and classical philosophy from Balliol 

 

So why do we elect these second rate politicians with second rate degrees from "good" colleges in useless subjects ? We seem to be getting what you would expect from them, which is not much.

 

I dropped out of a Science degree at North East London Poly, but I could do better than them.