Boris Johnson has suffered a blow to his campaign for the Tory crown after party grandee William Hague backed his rival Jeremy Hunt.
The former Conservative leader warned that Mr Johnson’s Brexit strategy could destroy the party, saying his pledge to leave the EU by 31 October on a “do or die” basis had cost him a vote, as ‘do and then die’ could very easily be the outcome”.
Both Tory leadership hopefuls faced pressure over Brexit at a hustings in Belfast as the contest enters its final weeks.
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
From
15p
€0.18
$0.18
USD 0.27
a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.
See below for live updates
Talks in Brussels have been running since Sunday as European leaders try to hammer out who should be the next European Commission president and the next European Council boss.
Jon Trickett, shadow cabinet office minister has accused the government of protecting its own over its refusal to launch an independent investigation into civil service leaks on Jeremy Corbyn’s health.
He said: “The refusal of the government to launch an independent investigation into this clear and unprecedented breach of civil service neutrality at a senior level, shows every sign of the establishment closing ranks to protect its own.
“When senior civil servants, who are obliged to be impartial, instead spread disinformation about the Leader of the opposition, it is an attack on our democratic system.
“In these circumstances, nothing less than a thorough investigation, independent of the Cabinet Office, will restore confidence.”
Chancellor Philip Hammond has been given a “parting” gift of a “rebel” walking guide by Labour in the Commons.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell offered the book across the despatch box as he noted it might be Mr Hammond’s “last Treasury questions”.
The gesture prompted laughter from MPs and a light-hearted exchange between the pair, as both recalled the time Mr McDonnell gave then Tory chancellor George Osborne a copy of China’s Communist leader Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book.
Mr McDonnell said: “With your permission, Mr Speaker, if I may, this may be the Chancellor’s last Treasury questions.
“I just want to thank him for the civility in which he’s always maintained our relationship, admit also that at times we’ve enjoyed his dry sense of humour.
“I gave his predecessor a little red book as a present; we have another red book, but this is a guide to London’s rebel walks and we hope he’ll enjoy it in his leisure periods.”
Mr Hammond replied: “That’s very kind of (him) and I much prefer this little red book (to the one) that he gave to my predecessor, although I have to say I haven’t read this one and I have read the other one.”
MPs from some of the smaller parties have today launched a cross-party bid to replace the UK’s first-past-the-post electoral system. Writing for The Independent, Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader, Liz Saville Roberts, explained why…
Labour is to ask the civil service to start drawing up plans for a second Brexit referendum, John McDonnell has said
Funding for local government has faced such deep cuts that one third of councils fear they will have run out of money to provide lifeline services like adult social care, protecting children and preventing homelessness, by the next scheduled general election, a survey has found.
Cash-strapped councils in England and Wales left “completely in the dark” by government are being overwhelmed by unprecedented demand for services and are being forced to make budget cuts mid-way through the financial year in an attempt to balance the books, a report by the Local Government Association (LGA) said.
The government has rejected calls for an independent inquiry into comments reportedly made by senior civil servants about Jeremy Corbyn’s health.
Downing Street said the probe would be carried out by the Civil Service and dismissed Labour’s demand that the investigation should be independent.
Meanwhile, Philip Hammond has claimed a “disruptive” no-deal Brexit could have a £90 billion “hit” on the exchequer and suggested there will be “no money available” for Theresa May’s successor.
The Chancellor poured scorn on pledges from Tory leadership hopefuls Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson, telling MPs he is not in favour of “ad hoc” spending or tax cut commitments being made.
He added all of the £26-27 billion “fiscal headroom” built up, and more, would be needed to respond to the immediate impacts of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
In a further nod to the pledges made by Mr Hunt and Mr Johnson, the Chancellor said this meant there would be no cash available for long-term tax cuts or spending increases.
Government analysis suggesting a multibillion-pound “hit” to the exchequer in a no-deal scenario would also have to be factored in to future decisions, Mr Hammond added.
Mr Johnson committed to keeping the role of Northern Ireland secretary after a newspaper report suggested he was being urged to reduce the number of Government departments.
“What the Telegraph said was that I was being urged to do that. And no one took the trouble to urge me in person before telling the Telegraph they were urging me to do it,” he said.
“Whatever urgings were taking place they were not directed personally at me.”
Asked if the role of Northern Ireland secretary will remain, he said: “There certainly will.”
Asked if he gets frustrated by being referred to a right-wing populist, Johnson says it is strange. He dismisses concerns as ‘hysteria’.
And that is it for the hustings for today.
The live feed has returned from Boris Johnson’s hustings appearance and he is still taking questions.
Asked if he identifies with a Game of Thrones character or a Star Wars one (both filmed in NI), Boris Johnson says he doesn’t know GOT that well. He does identify with “the guy with the light sabre”.
He tells a story he loves to tell about how light sabres are made in his constituency, Uxbridge. He has one in his office.
And that seems to be it for the Tory leadership hustings for today.
Asked if there should be a snap referendum in Northern Ireland on the backstop, Boris Johnson says the ‘only thing that will snap is people’s patience’. The Tory party will not recover as a ‘fighting force until we get Brexit done’, he says.
On same-sex marriage and abortion laws in NI, he takes a similar line to Hunt and says it is for the Northern Irish Assembly to decide. He says he voted for same-sex marriage many years ago and he understands the sentiment but the UK government should not be imposing decisions.
Asked if the Tory party should organise better in Northern Ireland, Johnson says the event looks pretty well-organised to him. He says is the only candidate left who has addressed the local associations in the area before.
Moving onto the Q&A, Boris Johnson is asked the same question about the failure to revive the Northern Ireland Assembly.
He calls on both sides to get on with it and says there is scope for compromise to get it done. He says he would do whatever he can personally to energise the talks but everyone needs to recognise that it is the citizens of Northern Ireland were losing out.
On the backstop, he says it presents a PM with an impossible choice between accepting EU rules and giving up control of government of Northern Ireland.
That’s a choice I completely reject, he says.
Johnson dismisses Theresa May’s Brexit deal as ‘dead’ but says some of the elements – such as citizens rights – can be salvaged.
The backstop really represents the ‘incoherence’ of the strategy pursued by Ms May, he claims.
Boris Johnson is now up. He says it is important to get Brexit done, to leave the EU by 31 October. He says that will be a ‘huge relief’ across the board.
He says he is determined to ensure the union remains intact when Brexit is done – and restates his pledge to be minister for the union in Downing Street.
Johnson says it is vital to fight for the union and defend it. He also calls for Conservatives to ‘get out mojo back’ and to stand up for Tory ideas as ‘they are the right ideas’, such as standing up for wealth creators and entrepreneurs.
He launches into a lengthy attack on Jeremy Corbyn, accusing him of siding with the “mullahs of Iran rather than our allies in the United States”.
The way to fight Corbyn is to get Brexit done and energise the Tory party, he says, and argues that he is the best person for the job.
Johnson points to his record defeating Ken Livingstone in the London mayoral race, who he says was a much wilier customer than Corbyn.
In response to another question on Brexit, Hunt admits it will be ‘bumpy getting there’ in getting a deal but it is possible.
A Tory audience member says Nigel Farage is a ‘highly competent operator’ and questions whether they can use learn from his expertise.
Hunt says Farage wants a different outcome, a no-deal Brexit. This would be bad for Northern Ireland, he says.
And that’s it from Mr Hunt.
And just as the DUP came up in the hustings, it emerges that Johnson is planning to meet the party leadership in Stormont.
Hunt says he needs to renew the deal with the DUP – even if he would prefer the Tories to have sole control. He suggested bringing them into the negotiating team as he needs to find a Brexit strategy that commands a Commons majority.
Asked about the DUP £1bn deal, Hunt says he hopes the DUP will support the government on Brexit.
Jeremy Hunt is asked if he is trying to ‘out-Boris Boris’ by being more pro-Brexit.
He denies this and says the difference between them is he is prepared to delay Brexit for a short while if necessary to get a deal, whereas Boris Johnson has set down an ‘absolutist’ deadline.
Asked what the difference is between Boris’ 31 October deadline and his own suggestion that he would end talks by end of September, he says he wants to give the EU a reasonable period to consider his proposals.
Hunt is asked about disparity between British and Northern Irish laws on same-sex marriage and abortion, he says this shows how important it is for the Assembly to be revived. He says he would want the law changed if he was Northern Irish.
Hunt praises Tory members in Northern Ireland – where there are no Conservative MPs – and says he will back them if he is PM.
