Domain Registration

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt square off in UK prime minister debate

  • July 09, 2019

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, the remaining Tory contenders competing to replace Prime Minister Theresa May as Conservative Party leader and prime minister, held their only debate Tuesday night in a campaign that has centered on who is in the best position to lead Britain out of the European Union. 

Boris Johnson, the current favorite to become Britain’s next prime minister, has repeated throughout his campaign that he would leave the EU on time, deal or no deal.

“I think it is very, very important not to envisage any circumstances in which we would fail to come out of the EU on October 31,” Johnson said during the hour-long debate televised on ITV.

In the closing statements, Johnson said that the only way to get Britain off “the hamster wheel of doom” is by getting Brexit done. Hunt said that he would only make promises that he can keep. 

Read more: Boris Johnson threatens to withhold Brexit divorce payment

Forcing Brexit through Parliament? 

During the debate, Johnson also refused to rule out suspending Parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit.

“I’m not going to take anything off the table. I think it would be absolutely bizarre at this stage in the negotiations for the UK, yet again, to be weakening its own position.”

Hunt said that he would not support suspending Parliament.

However, British lawmakers on Tuesday narrowly approved a measure that they hope will make it harder for the prime minister to suspend, or “prorogue,” Parliament by requiring ministers to make progress reports on Northern Ireland’s collapsed executive, thereby keeping the legislature in session in the run-up to Brexit day.

Crashing out of the EU — with preparation

Both candidates said during the debate that Britain could withstand a no-deal Brexit, if the country “prepared.” Hunt said that Britain could get through a hard Brexit with preparation, but added it would not be a “walk in the park.”

Johnson said a no-deal Brexit would be “vanishingly inexpensive” if the UK prepares, while admitting it would be costly if badly handled.

Read more: Should non-EU citizens be worried about a hard Brexit?

Some investors and lawmakers in Britain fear an mismanaged exit from the EU would unleash major economic disruption.

Britain’s new prime minister is expected to take office on July 24, after a mail-in election by members of the Conservative Party. The winner will then have until October 31 to gain support for a new Brexit deal. 

The current deal failed three times to be ratified in Parliament, and led to the political downfall of outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May. Johnson is hoping to renegotiate the existing exit deal with the EU, which Brussels has said cannot be reopened.

Corbyn backs a second referendum

Meanwhile, opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn shifted his party’s position, calling on the next prime minister to call a new Brexit referendum, in which Labour would campaign to stay as a member of the bloc.

In a letter to party members, Corbyn said that whoever succeeds Theresa May “should have the confidence to put their deal, or no-deal, back to the people in a public vote.”

“In those circumstances, I want to make it clear that Labour would campaign for Remain against either no-deal or a Tory deal that does not protect the economy and jobs,” he said.

  • British Prime Minister David Cameron hugs his wife, Samantha, and family in front of 10 Downing Street.

    Brexit timeline: Charting Britain’s turbulent exodus from Europe

    June 2016: ‘The will of the British people’

    After a shrill referendum campaign, nearly 52 percent of British voters opted to leave the EU on June 23. Polls had shown a close race before the vote with a slight lead for those favoring remaining in the EU. Conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron, who had campaigned for Britain to stay, acknowledged the “will of the British people” and resigned the following morning.

  • Theresa May visits the British Queen in Buckingham Palace to become prime minister.

    Brexit timeline: Charting Britain’s turbulent exodus from Europe

    July 2016: ‘Brexit means Brexit’

    Former Home Secretary Theresa May replaced David Cameron as prime minister on July 11 and promised the country that “Brexit means Brexit.” May had quietly supported the Remain campaign before the referendum. She did not initially say when her government would trigger Article 50 of the EU treaty to start the two-year talks leading to Britain’s formal exit.

  • British ambassador to the EU, Tim Barrow, hands over letter to EU Council President Donald Tusk on Britain triggering Article 50 to leave the EU.

    Brexit timeline: Charting Britain’s turbulent exodus from Europe

    March 2017: ‘We already miss you’

    May eventually signed a diplomatic letter over six months later on March 29, 2017 to trigger Article 50. Hours later, Britain’s ambassador to the EU, Tim Barrow, handed the note to European Council President Donald Tusk. Britain’s exit was officially set for March 29, 2019. Tusk ended his brief statement on the decision with: “We already miss you. Thank you and goodbye.”

  • British Brexit Secretary David Davis meets EU Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, in Brussels for the first round of Brexit negotiations.

    Brexit timeline: Charting Britain’s turbulent exodus from Europe

    June 2017: And they’re off!

    British Brexit Secretary David Davis and the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, kicked off talks in Brussels on June 19. The first round ended with Britain reluctantly agreeing to follow the EU’s timeline for the rest of the negotiations. The timeline split talks into two phases. The first would settle the terms of Britain’s exit, and the second the terms of the EU-UK relationship post-Brexit.

  • EU and British negotiating teams meet in Brussels for round 2 of Brexit negotiations.

    Brexit timeline: Charting Britain’s turbulent exodus from Europe

    July-October 2017: Money, rights and Ireland

    The second round of talks in mid-July began with an unflattering photo of a seemingly unprepared British team. It and subsequent rounds ended with little progress on three phase one issues: How much Britain still needed to pay into the EU budget after it leaves, the post-Brexit rights of EU and British citizens and whether Britain could keep an open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

  • EU leaders' summit Brussels | Donald Tusk (picture-alliance/AP Photo/dpa/O. Matthys)

    Brexit timeline: Charting Britain’s turbulent exodus from Europe

    December 2017: Go-ahead for phase 2

    Leaders of the remaining 27 EU members formally agreed that “sufficient progress” had been made to move on to phase two issues: the post-Brexit transition period and the future UK-EU trading relationship. While Prime Minister Theresa May expressed her delight at the decision, European Council President Tusk ominously warned that the second stage of talks would be “dramatically difficult.”

  • Boris Johnson and David Davis (picture-alliance/empics/G. Fuller)

    Brexit timeline: Charting Britain’s turbulent exodus from Europe

    July 2018: Johnson, Davis resign

    British ministers appeared to back a Brexit plan at May’s Chequers residence on July 6. The proposal would have kept Britain in a “combined customs territory” with the EU and signed up to a “common rulebook” on all goods. That went too far for British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and Brexit Secretary David Davis, who resigned a few days later. May replaced them with Jeremy Hunt and Dominic Raab.

  • UK Theresa May (Reuters/P. Nicholls)

    Brexit timeline: Charting Britain’s turbulent exodus from Europe

    September 2018: No cherries for Britain

    May’s Chequers proposal did not go down well with EU leaders, who told her at a summit in Salzburg in late September that it was unacceptable. EU Council President Tusk trolled May on Instagram, captioning a picture of himself and May looking at cakes with the line: “A piece of cake perhaps? Sorry, no cherries.” The gag echoed previous EU accusations of British cherry-picking.

  • Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker shake hands in Brussels (Getty Images/AFP/E. Dunand)

    Brexit timeline: Charting Britain’s turbulent exodus from Europe

    November 2018: Breakthrough in Brussels

    EU leaders endorsed a 585-page draft divorce deal and political declaration on post-Brexit ties in late November. The draft had been widely condemned by pro- and anti-Brexit lawmakers in the British Parliament only weeks earlier. Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab resigned along with several other ministers, and dozens of Conservative Party members tried to trigger a no-confidence vote in May.

  • German Chancellor Angela Merkel greets British Prime Minister Theresa May upon May's arrival for talks at the Chancellery on December 11, 2018 in Berlin, Germany (Getty Images/S. Gallup)

    Brexit timeline: Charting Britain’s turbulent exodus from Europe

    December 2018: May survives rebellion

    In the face of unrelenting opposition, May postponed a parliamentary vote on the deal on December 10. The next day, she met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to seek reassurances that would, she hoped, be enough to convince skeptical lawmakers to back the deal. But while she was away, hard-line Conservative lawmakers triggered a no-confidence vote. May won the vote a day later.

  • Prime Minister Theresa May addresses Parliament

    Brexit timeline: Charting Britain’s turbulent exodus from Europe

    January 2019: Agreement voted down

    The UK Parliament voted 432 to 202 against May’s Brexit deal on January 16. In response to the result, European Council President Donald Tusk suggested the only solution was for the UK to stay in the EU. Meanwhile, Britain’s Labour Party called for a no-confidence vote in the prime minister, her second leadership challenge in as many months.

  • Theresa May in London on March 12 (picture alliance/AP Photo/T. Ireland)

    Brexit timeline: Charting Britain’s turbulent exodus from Europe

    March 2019: Second defeat for May’s deal

    May tried to get legal changes to the deal’s so-called Irish backstop in the weeks that followed. She eventually got assurances that the UK could suspend the backstop under certain circumstances. But on March 12, Parliament voted against the revised Brexit deal by 391 to 242. EU leaders warned the vote increased the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit. Two days later, MPs voted to delay Brexit.

  • Theresa May speaks with other leaders at an EU summit in Brussels (picture-alliance/AP Photo/F. Augstein)

    Brexit timeline: Charting Britain’s turbulent exodus from Europe

    March 2019: Extension after second defeat

    Following the second defeat of May’s divorce deal, the European Council met in Brussels on March 21 to decide what to do next. EU leaders gave May two options: delay Brexit until May 22 if MPs vote for the withdrawal deal or delay it until April 12 if they vote against the deal. If the deal were to fail again in Parliament, May could ask for a long extension.

  • Theresa May speaks to lawmakers in the House of Commons (picture-alliance/AP Photo/House of Commons/M. Duffy)

    Brexit timeline: Charting Britain’s turbulent exodus from Europe

    March 2019: Brexit deal rejected a third time

    On March 29, the day that the UK was supposed to leave the EU, British lawmakers voted for a third time against May’s deal — rejecting it this time with a vote of 344 to 286. Following the latest defeat, May approached the main opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in an attempt to find a compromise, angering hardline Brexiteers in her own Conservative party.

  • British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after an extraordinary European Union leaders summit (Reuters/E. Plevier)

    Brexit timeline: Charting Britain’s turbulent exodus from Europe

    April 2019: Brexit delayed until Halloween

    With the April 12 deadline looming after the third defeat of May’s deal, EU leaders met again in Brussels to discuss a second delay. The only question was how long should it be? In the end, the UK and EU agreed to a “flexible” extension until October 31 — which can end sooner if the Brexit deal is approved. The UK had to take part in EU elections in May because their exit wasn’t secured in time.

  • Theresa May Statement London

    Brexit timeline: Charting Britain’s turbulent exodus from Europe

    May 2019: Prime Minister Theresa May resigns

    Weeks of talks between Prime Minister Theresa May and the Labour party to reach a deal proved unsuccessful and further eroded her political capital. She triggered an angry backlash from her party after she tried to put the option of a second referendum on the table. The series of failures led May to announce her resignation, effective June 7, in an emotional address.

  • England: Boris Johnson Michael Gove (picture-alliance/S. Rousseau)

    Brexit timeline: Charting Britain’s turbulent exodus from Europe

    June 2019: Leadership battle begins

    After Theresa May left office on June 7, other members of her Conservative party began clamoring for the top job. After two rounds of voting, the field has been narrowed down to Environment Secretary Michael Gove (left), former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (right), Former Development Secretary Rory Stewart, Home Secretary Sajid Javid, and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

    Author: Alexander Pearson


Every evening, DW’s editors send out a selection of the day’s hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.

 wmr, jsi/se (Reuters, AP)

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/boris-johnson-and-jeremy-hunt-square-off-in-uk-prime-minister-debate/a-49530730?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf

Related News

Search

Get best offer

Booking.com
%d bloggers like this: