This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen
on .
It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
Boris Johnson kicks off leadership campaign in earnest with video
Boris Johnson wins key backers after wooing Tories with campaign video
(about 3 hours later)
Boris Johnson has launched his Tory leadership bid in earnest with a video aimed at highlighting his campaigning credentials and a stream of timed endorsements, including several from prominent party moderates.
Boris Johnson pulled ahead of his closest rivals Dominic Raab, Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove on Monday with a slew of endorsements from prominent party moderates and Brexiteers, as outsider candidates warned against a “stitch-up” which could see them barred from the ballot of MPs.
Johnson’s campaign has been so far marked out by a distinct lack of public activity, unlike the flurry of publicity surrounding other candidates such as Dominic Raab, Rory Stewart or Jeremy Hunt.
Johnson, who has kept a low profile in the contest so far, launched his Conservative leadership campaign in earnest with a social media video highlighting his campaigning credentials.
A social media launch video released on Monday is his first major activity since he announced he would run. In it, Johnson meets voters on the campaign trail, and promises an ex-Conservative voter that he will take Britain out of the European Union on 31 October, “deal or no deal”, if he becomes prime minister.
His team then released timed endorsements throughout the day from MPs across the party’s spectrum, including the Brexit minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, and Simon Hart, the Tory MP who coordinates the moderate Brexit Delivery Group of Tory MPs.
The video also expresses support for increased education funding and police numbers, and shows him agreeing with voters on the need for more stop and search.
Concern is growing among some Conservative MPs that a change in the rules could lead to a coronation of Johnson before some of the lesser known candidates have gained momentum.
Johnson has been criticised, however, for claiming that crime in London went down 20% while he was mayor. The Liberal Democrats pointed to official government figures suggesting that police-recorded crime in London had fallen by 15% from 2007-08 to 2015-16.
The former foreign secretary is among 13 candidates in the race, a list that could grow on Tuesday: supporters of the defence secretary, Penny Mordaunt, say she will make a decision about running after an evening conference call with grassroots activists.
Ed Davey, a Lib Dem leadership candidate, said: “For Johnson to kick off his leadership campaign with a lie is at least very on-brand. He didn’t get crime in London down by 20%, and his own government’s analysis shows that his massive increase in stop and search had ‘no discernible crime-reducing effects’.”
The 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, which will run the contest, will hold an executive meeting on Tuesday as calls grow for changes to party rules to reduce the size of the field. The communities secretary, James Brokenshire, who suggested changes were needed to stop the contest dragging on, compared the race to the Grand National.
Johnson, one of 13 candidates in the race, pulled ahead of his closest rivals Raab, Hunt and Michael Gove in terms of the number of MPs endorsing him on Monday. He won backing from the Brexit minister Kwasi Kwarteng, and from Simon Hart, the Tory MP who co-ordinates the moderate Brexit Delivery Group of Tory MPs.
A Conservative leadership contest has two stages.
Liz Truss, the former chief secretary to the Treasury, who had been considering a run at the leadership herself, endorsed Johnson over the weekend.
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.
However, it is believed unlikely that Johnson will secure the backing of the work and pensions secretary, Amber Rudd – a joint ticket that had been dubbed “Bamber” – because of Rudd’s discomfort with serving in a cabinet that could pursue a no-deal Brexit.
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.
Other prominent names backing Johnson include the chair of the hard-Brexit European Research Group, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former defence secretary Gavin Williamson, and Zac Goldsmith.
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.
Johnson’s campaign began with a rocky start after he received a court summons last week over claims of misconduct in public office, alleging he had lied during the Brexit referendum campaign over the claim that Britain sends £350m a week to the European Union.
“If you already know it’s going to be a bit of a struggle to get over the first fence let alone Becher’s Brook ahead, then maybe you should pull up,” he said in a speech at Policy Exchange on Monday. “There is no embarrassment in that.”
Several of the committee’s executive members have suggested that candidates should be required to have the support of at least 12 MPs before they can be on the ballot.
Such a cut-off would eliminate a significant number of the candidates: Mark Harper, Rory Stewart, Esther McVey, James Cleverly, Andrea Leadsom, Kit Malthouse and Sam Gyimah.
Cleverly, a Brexit minister who is running a campaign as a new generation candidate, said the Conservative membership needed to be given “the chance to be gutsy” and warned against “rushing” the contest.
“This is a real opportunity for us to properly test ideas and people and we are looking for somebody who will not only deliver Brexit but be leader of the party for years into the future and has to reach out to a lot of voters,” he said.
“We need to win the next general election and I think rushing it could be counterproductive. Investing maybe an extra five days in the process to make sure we get it right for the next five years is time well spent.”
One supporter of an outsider candidate said they believed some on the 1922 Committee were trying to rig the rules in favour of Johnson, arguing it was highly unfair on some hopefuls to change the rules before any hustings had taken place to let them demonstrate their potential.
However, one of the leading candidates said it made sense to knock out the “minnows” in the race and concentrate on those who had a chance of winning.
Supporters of Johnson increasingly believe the race is likely to head for a “psychodrama” of a run-off between their candidate and Michael Gove, who knocked him out of the race in 2016.
However, those around Hunt, Raab, Sajid Javid and Matt Hancock all still insist they are in with a chance of coming through the middle, with about 150 Conservative MPs still to declare who they are backing.
In Johnson’s video released on Monday morning, he meets voters on the campaign trail and promises a former Conservative voter that he will take Britain out of the European Union on 31 October - deal or no deal.
The video expresses support for increased education funding and police numbers and shows him agreeing with voters on the need for more stop and search.
According to Crown Prosecution Service legal guidance, 'misconduct in public office' is committed when a public officer wilfully neglects to perform his duty and/or wilfully misconducts himself, to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public's trust in the office holder, without reasonable excuse or justification.
According to Crown Prosecution Service legal guidance, 'misconduct in public office' is committed when a public officer wilfully neglects to perform his duty and/or wilfully misconducts himself, to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public's trust in the office holder, without reasonable excuse or justification.
The origin of the offence dates back to the 13th century, and it can carry a punishment of life imprisonment. The CPS cites the following examples of behaviour that have in the past fallen within the offence:
The origin of the offence dates back to the 13th century, and it can carry a punishment of life imprisonment. The CPS cites the following examples of behaviour that have in the past fallen within the offence:
wilful excesses of official authority
wilful excesses of official authority
'malicious' exercises of official authority
'malicious' exercises of official authority
wilful neglect of a public duty
wilful neglect of a public duty
intentional infliction of bodily harm, imprisonment, or other injury upon a person
intentional infliction of bodily harm, imprisonment, or other injury upon a person
frauds and deceits
frauds and deceits
A 2016 Law Commission report into the application of the offence found several problems with it, including that 'public office' lacks clear definition yet is a critical element of the offence, and that an 'abuse of the public’s trust' is also a crucial component, but is so legally vague that it is difficult for investigators, prosecutors and juries to apply.
A 2016 Law Commission report into the application of the offence found several problems with it, including that 'public office' lacks clear definition yet is a critical element of the offence, and that an 'abuse of the public’s trust' is also a crucial component, but is so legally vague that it is difficult for investigators, prosecutors and juries to apply.
The 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, which will run the contest, is meeting on Tuesday amid calls to change party rules to reduce the size of the field. Several committee members have suggested that candidates be required to have the support of at least 12 MPs before they can be on the ballot for the rounds of voting.
The launch was not entirely without hitch, however. Johnson was immediately criticised for claiming that crime in London went down 20% while he was mayor. The Liberal Democrats pointed to official government figures suggesting that police-recorded crime in London had fallen by 15% from 2007-08 to 2015-16.
Such a cut-off would eliminate a significant number of the candidates: Mark Harper, Rory Stewart, Esther McVey, James Cleverly, Andrea Leadsom, Kit Malthouse and Sam Gyimah.
Ed Davey, a Lib Dem leadership candidate, said: “For Johnson to kick off his leadership campaign with a lie is at least very on-brand.”
The former deputy chair of the party and an under-secretary in DExEU, Cleverly has only been in parliament since 2015. The MP for Braintree announced his candidacy to his local paper saying the Conservatives needed to “look new and sound different”.
Liz Truss, the former chief secretary to the Treasury, who had been considering a run at the leadership herself, was the first of the current cabinet to endorse Johnson over the weekend.
The environment secretary is to pitch himself as a “unity candidate” capable of attracting leavers and remainers, as he formally declared his candidacy saying: “I believe that I’m ready to unite the Conservative and Unionist party, ready to deliver Brexit and ready to lead this great country.” But robust Brexiters in particular dislike the fact that he stayed loyal even in the final days of the crumbling May regime.
However, it is believed unlikely that Johnson will secure the backing of the work and pensions secretary, Amber Rudd – a joint ticket that had been dubbed “Bamber” – because of Rudd’s discomfort with serving in a cabinet that could pursue a no-deal Brexit.
The former universities minister is calling for a 'final say on the Brexit deal' as the only way to break the parliamentary deadlock. Gyimah is the only candidate offering a second referendum on Brexit, saying 'There is a wide range of candidates out there but there is a very narrow set of views on Brexit being discussed'.
Other prominent names backing Johnson include the chair of the hard-Brexit European Research Group, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former defence secretary Gavin Williamson and backbencher Zac Goldsmith.
The health secretary remains a relative outsider, but the longer the race goes on, the more he gains ground for the seemingly basic virtues of being apparently competent and broadly similar to a normal human being, albeit a particularly energetic one. A concerted effort would probably require an image consultant.
The former immigration minister and chief whip was behind the controversial 'go-home' vans when working under Theresa May at the Home Office. He resigned as immigration minister in 2014after it emerged he was employing a cleaner who did not have permission to work in the UK. He later served as David Cameron’s chief whip. But he has not served in Theresa May’s government and has, therefore, sought to cast himself as the candidate who offers 'fresh thinking.
Fears that the foreign secretary would be another overly woolly compromise choice were hardly assuaged when after a set-piece speech he seemed unable to outline why his brand of Conservatism might appeal to voters.
The home secretary still has the same weaknesses: he is an uninspiring speaker and some worry he is too fond of headline-grabbing, illiberal political gestures. But he is almost as ubiquitous as Liz Truss, and clearly believes this is his time.
The out-and-out favourite, so popular with the Tory grassroots that it would be hard for MPs to not make Johnson one of the final two. He has been relatively quiet recently, beyond his regular Telegraph column, but this is very deliberate.
The former House of Commons leader, who left Theresa May as the last candidate standing when she pulled out of the previous leadership race in 2016, has decided to have another tilt at the top job, saying she has the “experience and confidence” to “lead this country into a brighter future”. But even with her staunch Brexiter tendencies, she would be seen as an outsider.
The housing minister is credited as the convener of both Conservative leavers and remainers to develop a compromise on May’s withdrawal agreement. He said there was a “yearning for change”. The 52-year-old is a former deputy mayor of London and entered the Commons in 2015 when David Cameron’s Conservatives won a majority. His name was given to the “Malthouse compromise” – a proposal drawn up by backbenchers from leave and remain wings of the Tory party, which would have implemented May’s Brexit deal with the backstop replaced by alternative arrangements.
The former work and pensions secretary, who quit last year over May’s Brexit plans, has launched her own in-party campaign group/leadership vehicle called Blue Collar Conservatism, promising to make the party more amenable to voters in deprived communities – mainly through a promise to deliver a strong Brexit and policies such as diverting much of the foreign aid budget to schools and police.
Few things say “would-be leader in waiting” like a kitchen photoshoot with your spouse, and the former Brexit secretary duly obliged with this imageawash with tasteful pastel hues. He formally launched his bid in the Mail on Sunday. Among the more core constituency of Conservative MPs, Raab has been pushing hard, as has his semi-official “Ready for Raab” Twitter feed.
The cabinet’s most recent arrival – Mordaunt’s promotion to defence led to Stewart becoming international development secretary – certainly has the necessary ambition and self-belief, plus a privileged if unorthodox backstory covering Eton, Oxford, a senior role in postwar Iraq and a bestselling book about walking across Afghanistan. He remains an outsider, not least because of his remain tendencies and slightly 2010 view of compassionate Conservatism.
Sir Graham Brady, Penny Mordaunt and James Brokenshire are yet to declare their intentions. Liz Truss and Amber Rudd have ruled themselves out.
Among other senior figures not expected to run are Brandon Lewis, Chris Grayling and Philip Hammond. Gavin Williamson’s recent sacking after the Huawei leak inquiry will also surely rule him out as an option this time around.
Nigel Evans, a member of the 1922 Committee, said he hoped the field could be reduced to “six or seven” by the time the first round of voting by MPs took place next week. “Then the second round we could get it down to four and then probably two, which we would be presenting to the members,” he told the BBC.
“The important thing is we don’t want what happened last time: Andrea Leadsom, Theresa May, cosy chat, Andrea drops out, and a prime minister without it going to the party membership. We want a hustings throughout the country, TV debates, radio debates.”
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.
Downing Street has made it clear that it would be a more orderly process if a new leader could be in place before MPs leave for their summer recess, to give the Commons enough time to hold a confidence vote in the new prime minister.
