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'Crowds booing Tories': party leader hopefuls weigh up TV debate risks 'Crowds booing Tories': party leader hopefuls weigh up TV debate risks
(about 19 hours later)
Tory leadership candidates are considering which television debates to take part in, as campaign teams weigh up the risks of derailing their bids to be the next prime minister with an unpredictable live television appearance.Tory leadership candidates are considering which television debates to take part in, as campaign teams weigh up the risks of derailing their bids to be the next prime minister with an unpredictable live television appearance.
The BBC has confirmed plans to host a hustings on Tuesday 18 June, according to a memo sent to campaigns seen by the Guardian. The programme, chaired by Emily Maitlis, will be called Our Next Prime Minister and be broadcast live on BBC1 at 8pm. All candidates who are still in the contest at the time of broadcast will be invited to take part.The BBC has confirmed plans to host a hustings on Tuesday 18 June, according to a memo sent to campaigns seen by the Guardian. The programme, chaired by Emily Maitlis, will be called Our Next Prime Minister and be broadcast live on BBC1 at 8pm. All candidates who are still in the contest at the time of broadcast will be invited to take part.
Multiple leadership campaigns privately said they were particularly concerned about appearing in front of live audiences, especially if they represented a cross-section of the general population rather than the roughly 150,000 Conservative party members who will get to choose the next prime minister.Multiple leadership campaigns privately said they were particularly concerned about appearing in front of live audiences, especially if they represented a cross-section of the general population rather than the roughly 150,000 Conservative party members who will get to choose the next prime minister.
The environment secretary’s campaign plan was knocked off course by revelations about drug-taking. The environment secretary’s campaign plan was knocked off course by revelations about drug-taking. He has sought to regain his place as the leading ‘Stop Boris’ with a series of policy pledges.
He has sought to regain his place as the leading ‘Stop Boris’ with a series of policy pledges, from a new social insurance to pay for social care, to changing human rights law to prevent service personnel being pursued over historical crimes. He has better Brexiter credentials than Hunt, is liked by the moderate wing of the party, and is a better orator than almost any other candidate. Gove has privately reassured colleagues over recent months that he understands the devastating consequences of a no-deal Brexit, not least for his own environment department.
He has played up his senior role in the Vote Leave campaign, saying he had ‘led from the front’ because he believed it was ‘the right thing to do, at a critical moment in our history’. He has also stressed his background as a reformer, and promised to boost education funding and tackle social care funding – all pitches that could appeal to Stewartites, potentially enabling Gove to overtake Jeremy Hunt. 
On Brexit he has publicly discussed the idea of extending the Brexit deadline slightly beyond 31 October, if needed to finalise a deal. Has not completely ruled out a no-deal Brexit. He received 37 votes in the first round, 41 in the second, and 51 in the third round, placing him third each time.
He received 37 votes in the first round, coming third. He came third in the second round, increasing his number of supporters to 41. Hunt’s team called his showing on Wednesday a 'fantastic result'. It was, in the sense that he avoided being overtaken by Gove, and that he picked up an extra eight votes from Tuesday’s showing of 46.
The foreign secretary has made the case that he is the most serious and experienced would-be leader, in an apparent rebuke to his main rival, Boris Johnson.  But there is no doubt that after three rounds of voting Hunt would have hoped to be the obvious challenger to Johnson, whereas he was only narrowly ahead of Gove, with just three votes in it.
On Brexit he believes a new deal is possible by 31 October, and would send a new, cross-party negotiating team to Brussels. Would countenance leaving EU without a deal, but has warned that could lead to a confidence vote and potentially an election. The foreign secretary’s team are conscious that he risks appearing middle-of-the-road, with his rivals dismissing him as 'continuity May', or worse, Theresa in trousers, or 'Tit' for short.
Hunt’s problem is he is seen as the continuity candidate, the safe pair of hands, when colleagues are starting to see the attraction of a new style.  He received 43 votes in the first round and 46 votes in the second round. He continued to be in second place in the third round with 54 votes.
He received 43 votes in the first round, placing him second. He received 46 votes in the second round, staying in second place. Before his punchy performance in Tuesday’s debate Javid appeared vulnerable, with some allies fearing that he could be overtaken by Stewart, whose off-the-wall campaign style had helped him to remain in contention.
Javid struggled to define himself in the first days of the campaign, not a fresh face, not a safe pair of hands, or a true Brexit believer. But his campaign picked up, with the endorsement of popular Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, a polished leadership video telling the moving story of his background, and a lively launch speech. It was still only enough to place him fifth, though. But Javid scored one of the few clear victories amid the cacophony in the BBC studio, bouncing his four colleagues into promising an independent inquiry into Islamophobia in their party – a promise the winner will now be held to.
On Brexit, Javid says he wants to leave with a deal, but has talked down the idea of another extension and would be prepared to opt for no deal. His campaign team professed themselves delighted with the result, and will now turn their attention to trying to win over Stewart’s backers, by stressing Javid’s liberal credentials.
He is expected to make a new push to define himself as the change candidate who can talk to Tory voters in new places – though he may also be tempted to drop out to tuck in behind one of the frontrunners. It is hard to see how he could make it into the final two from this position. However, one moderate former Tory minister, who had backed Javid in the first round because of personal loyalty, said: “I like him, but I can’t support him because I don’t agree with his politics – he’s a Thatcherite.”
He received 23 votes in the first round, and 33 votes in the second round. He received 23 votes in the first round, 33 votes in the second, and 38 in the third.
The former foreign secretary already has enough support to progress through to the members’ ballot. All Johnson needs to do is sit tight, keep his MPs sweet and try not to ruin it for himself. He has kept a low profile in the media and stayed in the tearooms and in his office, methodically talking round colleagues. His team know that one negative news cycle because of an off-guard comment could see his star plummet – and Johnson is more prone to those than most. Johnson’s progress to Downing Street appeared unstoppable even before last week’s first round of voting among MPs, and most of his colleagues believe it is now all but inevitable that he will be Britain’s next prime minister.
On Brexit he has promised the UK will leave the EU on 31 October, come what may, even without a deal if a new agreement cannot be reached in time. His well-disciplined campaign team will continue with their strategy of subjecting him to minimal media exposure, though once the field is narrowed down to two, the final pair will appear in more than a dozen head-to-head hustings for Tory members. The team’s main aim is simply to keep heads down and avoid Johnson creating headlines for the wrong reasons.
Johnson won the first round with 114 votes, and the second round with 126 votes. Johnson won the first round with 114 votes, and the second round with 126 votes. He won the third round with 143 votes.
Stewart said he was ‘over the moon’ to scrape into the next round of voting with 19 votes, one-sixth of Johnson’s tally, and insisted afterwards he could still make the final two. He still has a mountain to climb to get into the next round, where he will need to get another 14 endorsements – and avoid coming last – or he will be automatically eliminated.
The safe money would say it is likely that he will not make it through the next round, yet it is just about possible that his mounting popularity with the public could convince colleagues to take a gamble on him if they hope to find an outsider with a chance of beating Johnson.
On Brexit he is by far the softest of the candidates – he so vehemently rules out no deal that he has discussed holding an impromptu parliament elsewhere in Westminster if a new PM opted to prorogue the Commons.
Stewart got 19 votes in the first round, and 37 votes in the second round.
One source on a leadership campaign said inviting the general public to take part in a programme would damage all of the contenders, especially if there was an adverse reaction from Labour supporters in the room: “If I was Jeremy Corbyn, I’d then just show this video of crowds booing Tories.”One source on a leadership campaign said inviting the general public to take part in a programme would damage all of the contenders, especially if there was an adverse reaction from Labour supporters in the room: “If I was Jeremy Corbyn, I’d then just show this video of crowds booing Tories.”
The proposed BBC hustings will not have a live audience, making it harder for campaigns to turn down the appearance. Instead, the invitation said it would draw on questions from people around the UK: “Between now and the broadcast, we will ask members of the public to submit questions and we will select the best of these. The questioners will join the programme from studios around the UK and put their questions to the candidates.”The proposed BBC hustings will not have a live audience, making it harder for campaigns to turn down the appearance. Instead, the invitation said it would draw on questions from people around the UK: “Between now and the broadcast, we will ask members of the public to submit questions and we will select the best of these. The questioners will join the programme from studios around the UK and put their questions to the candidates.”
New Tory leader could avoid immediate confidence voteNew Tory leader could avoid immediate confidence vote
The BBC will also host a special edition of Question Time and two Andrew Neil interview programmes on BBC1 with the final two candidates, once the shortlist has been whittled down by MPs.The BBC will also host a special edition of Question Time and two Andrew Neil interview programmes on BBC1 with the final two candidates, once the shortlist has been whittled down by MPs.
British broadcasters endured a torturous few weeks at the end of 2018, trying and failing to agree terms for a televised debate between Corbyn and Theresa May over Brexit. This eventually fell apart, with neither side able to agree on the rules of engagement.British broadcasters endured a torturous few weeks at the end of 2018, trying and failing to agree terms for a televised debate between Corbyn and Theresa May over Brexit. This eventually fell apart, with neither side able to agree on the rules of engagement.
This time around most broadcasters have chosen to announce the programmes after preliminary chats with candidates and to then challenge the campaigns to take part while negotiating on detail.This time around most broadcasters have chosen to announce the programmes after preliminary chats with candidates and to then challenge the campaigns to take part while negotiating on detail.
Channel 4 has attempted to get ahead of the BBC by announcing its own leadership hustings, which is scheduled to last 90 minutes on Sunday 16 June at 6.30pm, after the first round of voting among MPs. It will be hosted by Krishnan Guru-Murthy in front of a live studio audience of potential Tory voters drawn from across the UK.Channel 4 has attempted to get ahead of the BBC by announcing its own leadership hustings, which is scheduled to last 90 minutes on Sunday 16 June at 6.30pm, after the first round of voting among MPs. It will be hosted by Krishnan Guru-Murthy in front of a live studio audience of potential Tory voters drawn from across the UK.
However, multiple campaigns said they were weighing up whether to take part in the Channel 4 show. This is because of the time involved in preparing a candidate for an appearance on national television at a time when the focus of the contest is on winning over MPs rather than party members. Leading candidates such as Boris Johnson were thought to have more to lose by opening themselves up to attack by the rest of the field.However, multiple campaigns said they were weighing up whether to take part in the Channel 4 show. This is because of the time involved in preparing a candidate for an appearance on national television at a time when the focus of the contest is on winning over MPs rather than party members. Leading candidates such as Boris Johnson were thought to have more to lose by opening themselves up to attack by the rest of the field.
One leadership campaign cited perceived leftwing political bias by Channel 4 – and the presence of an audience – as risk factors, even though the programme would have to comply with Ofcom broadcasting rules. Every campaign has been reluctant to repeat May’s boycott of the BBC 2017 general election debate, when she was mocked for being the only leader not to turn up.One leadership campaign cited perceived leftwing political bias by Channel 4 – and the presence of an audience – as risk factors, even though the programme would have to comply with Ofcom broadcasting rules. Every campaign has been reluctant to repeat May’s boycott of the BBC 2017 general election debate, when she was mocked for being the only leader not to turn up.
ITV and Sky News will broadcast programmes during the final round of voting, when Conservative members will choose between two Tory leadership candidates.ITV and Sky News will broadcast programmes during the final round of voting, when Conservative members will choose between two Tory leadership candidates.
Conservative leadershipConservative leadership
ConservativesConservatives
BBCBBC
Emily MaitlisEmily Maitlis
ITV channelITV channel
Channel 4Channel 4
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