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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jun/13/rory-stewart-threatens-alternative-parliament-to-avoid-no-deal-brexit
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| Rory Stewart threatens 'alternative parliament' to avoid no-deal Brexit | Rory Stewart threatens 'alternative parliament' to avoid no-deal Brexit |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| The Conservative leadership outsider Rory Stewart, who has been unexpectedly catapulted into the next round of the contest, vowed he would set up “an alternative parliament” should the frontrunner, Boris Johnson, suspend parliament to pursue a no-deal Brexit. | |
| Stewart, who is understood to have drafted a concession speech before unexpectedly scraping through the first round on Thursday, came one vote behind Matt Hancock and four behind Sajid Javid. | |
| His campaign said it showed momentum was behind him due to his public appeal, despite being the lowest scoring of the seven candidates to go through to the next round. | |
| Full results of the Conservative leadership election - round 1 | Full results of the Conservative leadership election - round 1 |
| In a plea to supporters of Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove, Stewart’s backer, the justice secretary, David Gauke, suggested they would not have a chance of beating Johnson in the final round. “A safe pair of hands is not going to beat Boris Johnson,” he said. | |
| Stewart said he was “absolutely over the moon” to have secured enough votes and said he would be reaching out to “every single colleague” to persuade them to switch their vote. | Stewart said he was “absolutely over the moon” to have secured enough votes and said he would be reaching out to “every single colleague” to persuade them to switch their vote. |
| He said he and other MPs would be prepared to “bring him down” if Johnson attempted to prorogue parliament. “If he were to try, I and every other member of parliament, will sit across the road in Methodist Central Hall and we will hold our own session of parliament,” he said. | He said he and other MPs would be prepared to “bring him down” if Johnson attempted to prorogue parliament. “If he were to try, I and every other member of parliament, will sit across the road in Methodist Central Hall and we will hold our own session of parliament,” he said. |
| Campaign sources for Hunt, Gove and Javid conceded there was now a race for second place behind Johnson, who won 114 votes, well ahead of his rivals. However, in the immediate aftermath, no campaign appeared willing to try to thrash out a consensus behind one candidate. | |
| Gauke said colleagues who wanted to properly challenge Johnson should back Stewart because of his engagement with the public, demonstrated in a campaign which has been dominated by shaky, hand-held videos of Stewart meeting members of the public in different cities. | Gauke said colleagues who wanted to properly challenge Johnson should back Stewart because of his engagement with the public, demonstrated in a campaign which has been dominated by shaky, hand-held videos of Stewart meeting members of the public in different cities. |
| “Here, there is a comparison to be made with Boris – Rory has that ability to connect with the public, he has got that authenticity that the public respond to really well and he is the one capable of causing surprises,” said Gauke. | “Here, there is a comparison to be made with Boris – Rory has that ability to connect with the public, he has got that authenticity that the public respond to really well and he is the one capable of causing surprises,” said Gauke. |
| “It’s very clearly going to be Boris versus someone else. Boris is the overwhelming favourite. Rory is an unconventional candidate and he is the only one who could pull off a surprise. He is the only other candidate that people are talking about in the supermarket queues.” | “It’s very clearly going to be Boris versus someone else. Boris is the overwhelming favourite. Rory is an unconventional candidate and he is the only one who could pull off a surprise. He is the only other candidate that people are talking about in the supermarket queues.” |
| Gauke said he believed there was still “quite a lot of hidden support there for Rory”, who won votes from 19 Tory MPs – 12 more than had publicly declared support for him. | Gauke said he believed there was still “quite a lot of hidden support there for Rory”, who won votes from 19 Tory MPs – 12 more than had publicly declared support for him. |
| Stewart’s camp has also been buoyed by a poll of party members from ConservativeHome which put him as second favourite, albeit more than 40 points behind Johnson. | Stewart’s camp has also been buoyed by a poll of party members from ConservativeHome which put him as second favourite, albeit more than 40 points behind Johnson. |
| His backers believe he can capitalise on the forthcoming TV debates, one of which is being hosted by Channel 4 on Sunday. Johnson’s team has not confirmed whether he will take part. | His backers believe he can capitalise on the forthcoming TV debates, one of which is being hosted by Channel 4 on Sunday. Johnson’s team has not confirmed whether he will take part. |
| Amber Rudd, the most high-profile backer of Hunt, said it was essential that candidates committed to taking part in public debate. | |
| “I want them all to do the TV debates. Jeremy has said he wants to participate, he’s still in negotiations, but the key thing is that all the candidates get out to TV debates,” she said. | “I want them all to do the TV debates. Jeremy has said he wants to participate, he’s still in negotiations, but the key thing is that all the candidates get out to TV debates,” she said. |
| “I keep on saying the fact is the Conservative party needs to remember that we’re not just choosing a leader, we’re choosing a prime minister and the public need to see them. I think they’ve got a duty to do it – to be publicly interrogated.” | “I keep on saying the fact is the Conservative party needs to remember that we’re not just choosing a leader, we’re choosing a prime minister and the public need to see them. I think they’ve got a duty to do it – to be publicly interrogated.” |
| In a video thanking supporters, Gove said there should be a “proper debate about ideas” in the party, suggesting he too would be piling pressure on Johnson to take part in upcoming TV debates. | In a video thanking supporters, Gove said there should be a “proper debate about ideas” in the party, suggesting he too would be piling pressure on Johnson to take part in upcoming TV debates. |
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