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Boris Johnson thought the leadership race would be a coronation. He didn’t reckon on a resurgent Hunt

Inside Westminster: The former London mayor remains comfortably ahead in polls of Tory members, but the foreign secretary might deny him the huge mandate he is hoping for

Andrew Grice
Friday 28 June 2019 16:26 BST
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Johnson can no longer afford to underestimate Hunt
Johnson can no longer afford to underestimate Hunt

There were cheers of joy among Team Boris when Michael Gove was knocked out of the Tory leadership contest, and they knew they would face Jeremy Hunt in the run-off among Tory members.

They judged that Hunt, unlike Gove, had a fatal weakness because he backed Remain in the 2016 referendum. They also thought he would fight a less aggressive campaign than Gove. They were probably right on the first point, but wrong on the second one.

Hunt is giving Boris Johnson an unexpectedly tough fight. He seized his opportunity to make character an issue after Johnson’s row with his partner Carrie Symonds. He is right to attack Johnson for avoiding a head-to-head TV debate before Tory members start to receive their ballot papers on 6 July. Calling Johnson a “coward” for avoiding media exposure drew blood, forcing Johnson out of his bunker to do a series of interviews.

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