The final showdown: Hunt vs. Johnson

With Hunt, the Conservatives can take their place as the Party of business and the Party trusted with the economy.

The end of the Blue-on-Blue battle for the keys to Number 10 came last night with the final televised interview live streamed by the Sun. Perhaps the candidates could feel the end of the road in sight as the whole affair was more positive; the candidates were in more agreement with each other and were  cracking jokes instead of sniping at each other.

Jeremy Hunt confirmed his commitment to Brexit with an aim of securing a deal and also a plan for preparing for the option of no deal.

With Hunt, the Conservatives can take their place as the Party of business and the Party trusted with the economy. This can be done by ensuring Brexit is done in the way that is safest for the economy, with a deal.

If a day or two is needed to secure a better deal for Britain, this can be done.

Only on 15th July, Ursulavon der Leyen, who is likely to replace Jean Claude Juncker as European Union commission president, has said she would ‘support a further extension if good reasons are provided’. This shows how viable Hunt’s plans for Brexit are as they consist of more than a meaningless mantra. Hunt is committed to Brexit. No deal preparations, which Boris Johnson underestimates despite businesses up and down the country voicing their concerns, are taken seriously by Hunt. The country needs to know they will have a leader who won’t risk economic suicide for personal pride. Hunt’s plan includes using emergency powers to help ports and airports coordinate imports and exports of goods in a no deal scenario, as well as cutting corporation tax to 12.5% and taking 9% of small businesses out of paying business rates in the likely event of high tariffs being imposed.

Johnson’s campaign is defined by the 31st October deadline, a date which he struggled to recall once in the interview. Yet his position to deliver this is untenable as the Conservative Party has a majority of three and parliament has previously rejected Theresa May’s deal three times and rejected the notion of no deal.

If he fails to stick to his deadline the only option will be to change parliament so Brexit can be enforced by a general election. With another general election we risk a Corbyn government of hard-left policies, leaving the country to be led by a seeming anti-semite. Johnson is willing to prorogue Parliament to ensure Brexit happens, which undermines the principle of ‘taking back control’, as this is an anti-democratic move which does the opposite of ensuring our parliament is more sovereign.

With Hunt, we will get policies, not just persona. In the interview, Hunt talked about his ‘Right To Own’ scheme which would target windfall profits made by property developers. The windfall profits would be used for starter homes at affordable prices, getting 1.5million young people on the housing ladder.

It was good to hear both candidates would be going for some drinks together after the leadership race. This provides hope that the Party and the supporters of each candidate can too unite after this fight.