Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt will once again be put through their paces by grassroots Conservatives as the race to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May gets into full-swing. The back-to-back hustings in the Lake District and Manchester follows on from a gruelling event yesterday in Exeter, when both leadership hopefuls put forward their bright vision for Britain and their plans to deliver Brexit. Mr Johnson promised the Sandy Park Conference Centre he would take the UK out of the EU on October 31 and was upbeat about the prosperity it would bring, he insisted “the hour is darkest before the dawn, we can turn this thing around”.
The former Mayor of London also hit out at the Government’s “defeatist” approach to negotiations and reiterated his desire to withhold the £31 billon divorce bill until the UK “get what we want”.
Meanwhile the Foreign Secretary championed his entrepreneurial background and he would turbo charge the economy and “park an economic jumbo jet on Europe’s doorstep” following exit from the bloc.
Mr Hunt has received a boost as he looks to upset the odds, the latest YouGov poll found he is the public’s preferred candidate and 12 points ahead of his rival.
Tory leader live: Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt will contest the husting in the Lake District (Image: GETTY)
The survey of 1,686 adults on Wednesday and Thursday, put Mr Hunt on 41 percent and Mr Johnson on 29 percent, whilst the remaining 30 percent did not know.
Although the poll was not of purely Tory party members – who will ultimately decide the future leader – the results will give party members something to think about as the Conservatives try to secure their future amid pressure from the surging Brexit Party and Liberal Democrats.
As momentum gathers behind Mr Hunt, Mr Johnson was given a further blow after Justice Secretary David Gauke said he would be unable to serve his cabinet.
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Tory leader live: Boris Johnson has vowed the leave the EU on October 31 (Image: PA)
The influential Tory MP hit out at Mr Johnson’s hard stance on Brexit and said it made “no deal inevitable”.
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12.45pm update: Boris’ ‘celebrity’ status to give him upper-hand on Hunt
Boris Johnson is likely to see-off his rival Jeremy Hunt because of his “celebrity” status, according to Sky News editor-at-large Adam Boulton.
Mr Boulton wrote: “Mr Johnson’s celebrity is the best reason for Conservatives to choose him as their next leader.
“If people know who someone is they are more likely to vote for them than a stranger.”
Tory leader live: Boris Johnson is the frontrunner to succeed Theresa May (Image: PA)
12.00pm update: Boris and Hunt prepare for Husting event
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt will take part in the first of two hustings event in Carlisle at 1pm.
The pair will then travel south to Manchester for the second event at 7pm.
11.30am update: Hunt reveals father’s influence on his life – ‘Reach for the stars’
Jeremy Hunt has revealed the impact his parents have had on driving forward his ambitious political career.
The Foreign Secretary was speaking as he gave a rare insight into the death of his ten-month old sister when he was just two-years-old.
Following the tragedy, he praised his mother’s optimism for the future and how his father encouraged him to “reach for the stars”.
Mr Hunt told the Mail Online: “Mum is someone who always bounces back, however tough things get. She is one of the most optimistic positive people I’ve ever met.
“But Dad was the biggest influence on my life because he was incredibly kind but had real steel underneath.
“He taught me to reach for the stars, but also that decency matters.
“He was an admiral, but he always cared about most junior person on the ship.”
Tory leader Live: Jeremy Hunt walking the River Dart with wife Lucia (Image: PA)
11.10am update: Boris grilled by school pupil during interview
Boris Johnson was put through his paces in an interview with a student from King Alfred School in Somerset.
When the Tory leadership hopeful was asked who is the most famous person you have ever met?
Boris replied: “The Queen.”
Mr Johnson also outlined his plan to increase funding for schools.
He said: “We are going to increase funding for every primary and secondary school, a total of £4.6billon.”
Mr Johnson when put on the spot, and asked how he would deal with seagull problem at the school.
Mr Johnson said: “Wow that is a very good question, what are you allowed to do?”
He went on to say: “We are not going to harm them, were not going to shoot them, were not even going to catch them in nets.”
He added: “What we are going to do is we are going to use ultra high pitched sonic disturbances designed to imitate hawks to scare them off.”
Tory Leader live: Arron banks is seeking an ‘alliance’ between Boris and Farage (Image: GETTY)
10.45am update: Arron Banks seeks ‘alliance’ between Boris and Farage to deliver Brexit
Brexiteer Arron Banks has thrown his support behind Boris Johnson in the Tory leadership contest as he believes the frontrunner will “attempt to get a better deal” from Brussels and is “prepared to go for a No Deal Brexit”.
The Leave.EU chairman sees the former London Mayor “potentially forging an alliance” with Nigel Farage and the Brexit Party which he claims would “sweep the country in an election”.
In a letter Mr Banks said: “In terms of the Conservative Party leadership election, we very much support Boris Johnson. As Nigel said, “we are not electing a Pope!”
“Our view is that Boris will attempt to get a better deal from the EU but is prepared to go for a No Deal Brexit. If frustrated by Parliament, he will have to go for an early election.
“He will soon become Prime Minister, potentially forging an alliance with Nigel’s Brexit Party.”
He added: “As Labour shifts closer to an openly pro-Remain position and joins forces with the Liberal Democrats, the pressure will grow on Boris to do business with the UK’s fastest growing insurgent party.
“A Boris/Brexit Party alliance would sweep the country in an election, and Brexit Party MPs would make sure Boris kept to his word.
“We continue to support the Brexit Party while boosting Boris into Number 10 because it keeps the iron in the fire.”
Tory leader live: Jeremy Hunt is the public’s preferred candidate according to a YouGov poll (Image: PA)
10.30am update: Hunt challenges Boris to bizarre wrestling contest
Jeremy Hunt challenged Tory leadership rival Boris Johnson to a post-debate wrestle after a tongue-in-cheek row erupted over who would win such a contest.
The question of the respective candidates’ prowess in the ring arose thanks to an interview with Mr Johnson on the ConservativeHome website, as when asked if he felt compelled to challenge Mr Hunt “to a nude mud-wrestling contest” after being described as a “coward” by his rival, he said: “I would defeat anybody in such a contest, were I obliged to do so, but that’s not how I propose to win this.”
Mr Hunt responded on Twitter simply by saying: “Absolutely not.”
He initially used the word “coward” in his criticism of Mr Johnson for avoiding a live TV debate with his rival, and he used the wrestling debate as an opportunity to return to the subject.
