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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jun/12/brexit-delay-means-defeat-boris-johnson-launches-campaign
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| Boris Johnson pledges new determination to leave EU by 31 October | Boris Johnson pledges new determination to leave EU by 31 October |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Boris Johnson has launched his Tory leadership campaign by insisting he does not wish to pursue a no-deal Brexit but would prepare “vigorously and seriously” to leave the European Union with no agreement in October, saying the survival of the Conservative party depended on it. | Boris Johnson has launched his Tory leadership campaign by insisting he does not wish to pursue a no-deal Brexit but would prepare “vigorously and seriously” to leave the European Union with no agreement in October, saying the survival of the Conservative party depended on it. |
| The Tory leadership frontrunner officially launched his campaign on Wednesday by telling the assembled crowd of MPs he believed a new government “with a new mandate, a new optimism, a new determination” could leave the EU with an amended deal. | The Tory leadership frontrunner officially launched his campaign on Wednesday by telling the assembled crowd of MPs he believed a new government “with a new mandate, a new optimism, a new determination” could leave the EU with an amended deal. |
| However, he warned that he was determined to leave the EU by 31 October, whether he had achieved a new deal or not. “Parties have entered a yellow-box junction, unable to move forward or back,” he said. | However, he warned that he was determined to leave the EU by 31 October, whether he had achieved a new deal or not. “Parties have entered a yellow-box junction, unable to move forward or back,” he said. |
| Boris Johnson Brexit plan difficult or impossible – Hammond | Boris Johnson Brexit plan difficult or impossible – Hammond |
| “Around the country there is a mood of disillusion, even despair at our ability to get things done. The longer it goes on, the worse the risk of serious contamination and a real loss of confidence, because the people of this country deserve better from their leaders.” | “Around the country there is a mood of disillusion, even despair at our ability to get things done. The longer it goes on, the worse the risk of serious contamination and a real loss of confidence, because the people of this country deserve better from their leaders.” |
| He added: “After three years and two missed deadlines, we must leave the EU on 31 October.” | He added: “After three years and two missed deadlines, we must leave the EU on 31 October.” |
| He said that he believed the government “must do better than the current withdrawal agreement rejected three times by parliament”. | He said that he believed the government “must do better than the current withdrawal agreement rejected three times by parliament”. |
| “I am not aiming for a no-deal outcome, I don’t think we can end up with any such thing. But it is only responsible to prepare vigorously and seriously,” he went on. | “I am not aiming for a no-deal outcome, I don’t think we can end up with any such thing. But it is only responsible to prepare vigorously and seriously,” he went on. |
| “It’s only if we have the guts and the courage to get ready for it that we will carry any conviction in Brussels and get the deal we need. Delay means defeat, delay means Corbyn, kick the can again and we kick the bucket.” | “It’s only if we have the guts and the courage to get ready for it that we will carry any conviction in Brussels and get the deal we need. Delay means defeat, delay means Corbyn, kick the can again and we kick the bucket.” |
| MPs will hold a vote on Wednesday afternoon as the first step in an attempt to rule out a no-deal exit. | MPs will hold a vote on Wednesday afternoon as the first step in an attempt to rule out a no-deal exit. |
| Johnson declined to say what he would do if he had not secured an improved deal in time for 31 October – or whether he would resign if the deadline were not met. He merely argued that MPs who failed to implement the result of the referendum would “reap the whirlwind”. | |
| Johnson, who spent much of his speech on his record as mayor of London, appeared to address his critics who have claimed he would be an unserious and untrustworthy leader with a lack of attention to detail. | Johnson, who spent much of his speech on his record as mayor of London, appeared to address his critics who have claimed he would be an unserious and untrustworthy leader with a lack of attention to detail. |
| “I do not for one minute underestimate the complexity and challenges that lie ahead. I have long experience of managing real short-term difficulties in the confident expectation of long-term success,” he said. | “I do not for one minute underestimate the complexity and challenges that lie ahead. I have long experience of managing real short-term difficulties in the confident expectation of long-term success,” he said. |
| At the launch, which was peppered with sounds from protesters outside shouting “Stop Brexit”, Johnson unveiled his latest high-profile backer – the attorney general, Geoffrey Cox. | |
| Cox introduced him as “a leader who can unify the Conservative family, and out-campaign and outfight Jeremy Corbyn and Nigel Farage, at any time and in any corner of our country”. | |
| Johnson has the highest number of cabinet backers, including the chief secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss, and the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, as well as two former defence secretaries, Gavin Williamson and Michael Fallon. | |
| In his speech, Johnson sought to pitch himself as a one nation prime minister who would boost infrastructure in the north and increase education spending. | In his speech, Johnson sought to pitch himself as a one nation prime minister who would boost infrastructure in the north and increase education spending. |
| “It should be our fundamental moral purpose as a government not just to bridge the wealth gap, not just the productivity gap, but the opportunity gap, between one part of the UK and another. And I know we can do it: I know we can unite our country and our society.” | “It should be our fundamental moral purpose as a government not just to bridge the wealth gap, not just the productivity gap, but the opportunity gap, between one part of the UK and another. And I know we can do it: I know we can unite our country and our society.” |
| Answering questions from journalists, he defended the language that has repeatedly landed him in trouble – including comments that Muslim women wearing burqas resemble letterboxes. | Answering questions from journalists, he defended the language that has repeatedly landed him in trouble – including comments that Muslim women wearing burqas resemble letterboxes. |
| Johnson said that occasionally, “some plaster comes off the ceiling because of a phrase I may have used, or because a phrase has been wrenched out of context”. | Johnson said that occasionally, “some plaster comes off the ceiling because of a phrase I may have used, or because a phrase has been wrenched out of context”. |
| But he said the public feel alienated from politicians, because “too often we are muffling and veiling our language: not speaking as we find; covering everything up in bureaucratic platitudes, when what they want to hear is what we really think.” | But he said the public feel alienated from politicians, because “too often we are muffling and veiling our language: not speaking as we find; covering everything up in bureaucratic platitudes, when what they want to hear is what we really think.” |
| He added: “Of course I am sorry for the offence I have caused, but I will continue to speak as directly as I can.” And he also refused to refute an earlier story that, like Michael Gove, he had taken cocaine. | He added: “Of course I am sorry for the offence I have caused, but I will continue to speak as directly as I can.” And he also refused to refute an earlier story that, like Michael Gove, he had taken cocaine. |
| Speaking earlier, Truss said Johnson was being attacked because he was so popular and insisted he had nothing to hide despite accusations that he was staying away from public scrutiny. | Speaking earlier, Truss said Johnson was being attacked because he was so popular and insisted he had nothing to hide despite accusations that he was staying away from public scrutiny. |
| “I do not think the British public are interested in Boris’s personal life,” she said. “Part of the reason he is getting so much flak is because there are people out there who don’t want us to change. They don’t want the Conservative party to change. They are wrong. If we don’t change, we don’t survive.” | “I do not think the British public are interested in Boris’s personal life,” she said. “Part of the reason he is getting so much flak is because there are people out there who don’t want us to change. They don’t want the Conservative party to change. They are wrong. If we don’t change, we don’t survive.” |
| Quizzed on his blunder over Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian mother held in Iran, Truss said that “apologists for Iran are putting the blame on Boris Johnson”. Johnson had described her as “training journalists”, which was seized upon by the regime, when Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family said she had been on a holiday to see her parents. | |
| Other candidates have criticised Johnson for avoiding scrutiny, including Rory Stewart, who on Tuesday night cast doubt on whether his rival should be trusted with Britain’s nuclear codes. | Other candidates have criticised Johnson for avoiding scrutiny, including Rory Stewart, who on Tuesday night cast doubt on whether his rival should be trusted with Britain’s nuclear codes. |
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