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| Pro-Boris Johnson campaign launched by Guido Fawkes blogger | Pro-Boris Johnson campaign launched by Guido Fawkes blogger |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| An online campaign putting pressure on Conservative MPs to back Boris Johnson as leader of the party is being run by Paul Staines, the founder of the Guido Fawkes blog. | An online campaign putting pressure on Conservative MPs to back Boris Johnson as leader of the party is being run by Paul Staines, the founder of the Guido Fawkes blog. |
| The campaign attracted attention amid ongoing questions over the funding and backing of online campaign groups, especially following the Guardian’s revelations that employees of Sir Lynton Crosby were running influence campaigns for a hard Brexit. | The campaign attracted attention amid ongoing questions over the funding and backing of online campaign groups, especially following the Guardian’s revelations that employees of Sir Lynton Crosby were running influence campaigns for a hard Brexit. |
| Boris on the Ballot, which launched this weekend, is designed to encourage members of the public to write to their local Tory MP and encourage them to nominate Johnson for leader. The former foreign secretary’s supporters fear Tory MPs could stop Johnson making the final shortlist of two leadership candidates which are put to party members for a vote. | Boris on the Ballot, which launched this weekend, is designed to encourage members of the public to write to their local Tory MP and encourage them to nominate Johnson for leader. The former foreign secretary’s supporters fear Tory MPs could stop Johnson making the final shortlist of two leadership candidates which are put to party members for a vote. |
| Stop Boris Johnson campaign launched by Tory moderates opposed to no-deal Brexit | Stop Boris Johnson campaign launched by Tory moderates opposed to no-deal Brexit |
| Staines confirmed he is running the campaign group – which is also collecting contact details on potential backers – through the Irish-registered company CampaignAction Ltd, registered with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office. | Staines confirmed he is running the campaign group – which is also collecting contact details on potential backers – through the Irish-registered company CampaignAction Ltd, registered with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office. |
| “There’s no intention of covering my tracks. I’m the sole director and sole shareholder,” said Staines, who said he had not asked for permission from Johnson’s team before launching the campaign. He said he had acted because he did not think the official campaign would “get their act together” in time. | “There’s no intention of covering my tracks. I’m the sole director and sole shareholder,” said Staines, who said he had not asked for permission from Johnson’s team before launching the campaign. He said he had acted because he did not think the official campaign would “get their act together” in time. |
| “I have supported him since 2006 and I do want him to be leader of the Tories,” he said, adding that he had owned the Boris2020 domain for almost a decade, in anticipation of a Johnson election. | “I have supported him since 2006 and I do want him to be leader of the Tories,” he said, adding that he had owned the Boris2020 domain for almost a decade, in anticipation of a Johnson election. |
| A Conservative leadership contest has two stages. | |
| First, MPs vote for their choice from the nominated candidates. In each round of voting, the candidate with the least number of votes is eliminated from the contest. MPs vote again, until there are only two challengers remaining. This usually takes place over several days, and candidates often withdraw from the process if they see they have no chance of winning. | |
| The second stage is a postal ballot of Conservative party members to chose one of the two candidates, meaning around 120,000 people will choose the UK's next prime minister. | |
| Theresa May will formally resign on 7 June, and nominations to be leader are expected to close the following week. The contest should be finished by the end of July. | |
| He did not give details on how much he was spending on the campaign: “It’s lower than people might think. I had to spend a bit of money on lawyers.” | He did not give details on how much he was spending on the campaign: “It’s lower than people might think. I had to spend a bit of money on lawyers.” |
| Staines also has a financial interest in the online political advertising company MessageSpace, which is not involved in the Johnson campaign. The Conservative party spent £100,000 on advertising with MessageSpace in both the 2015 and 2017 general elections. | Staines also has a financial interest in the online political advertising company MessageSpace, which is not involved in the Johnson campaign. The Conservative party spent £100,000 on advertising with MessageSpace in both the 2015 and 2017 general elections. |
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