City Tories’ verdict on two candidates
Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt? One of these two will be the UK’S next prime minister but most of us don’t get a say.
So we spoke to some Conservative councillors at Bath and North East Somerset Council, to see who they will choose as their preferred next Tory leader.
Only Conservative members will be able to vote on the two remaining candidates to succeed Theresa May as Conservative and Unionist Party leader, and therefore prime minister.
Lisa O’brien, Keynsham South, said she was backing Johnson. “I was prepared to consider all of the candidates, except Michael Gove.
“I think he has proven himself to be an untrustworthy politician and I think he would prove that again in the future. I will be backing Boris. While he has his faults, as everyone does, I think he has the energy and the enthusiasm for the job.
“He is the sort of person you can talk to. When he was London mayor, he did not make all the decisions. He was not afraid to delegate and get other people to help out.
“He has also not made disparaging remarks about the other candidates, something they have all done. I think Boris is the clear favourite.”
Paul May, whose ward is Publow with Whitchurch, said that he was not particularly impressed with any of the candidates, but at a push, he said Hunt was his pick.
He said: “At the moment, I am listening and making up my mind. I don’t have a favourite in my mind.
“What we are looking for is a prime minister that will deliver and sort out this Brexit mess and move forward as a country.
“I cannot see any of them coming up with a solution, to be honest. I would maybe say Jeremy Hunt is the one that I would support but I still have an open mind.”
Chris Watt, Midsomer Norton Redfield, said it was ‘pretty obvious’ that Johnson was going to win.
He was, however, initially impressed by Rory Stewart.
“I had been reasonably impressed with Rory (Stewart) but not after he said he did not want to be part of Boris Johnson’s cabinet,” he said.
“I think it is pretty obvious that Boris Johnson is going to win it. I believe that party members will vote for him. I cannot see anyone else having a chance.”
Cllr Watt hoped that whatever the course of the Brexit negotiations was to be, a clear path must be taken.
“I am thinking about this race in terms of who can best resolve Brexit. The person who is best at that should be the leader,” he said.
“It needs to be clear. We leave the European Union on October 31 with an agreement or we don’t.
“If Parliament cannot get this resolved then I think there should be a general election.
The remaining two MPS will compete in a run-off of the party’s 160,000 or so members, and the winner will be announced on the week of July 22.