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Boris Johnson’s launch event has wrapped up – but it’s unclear whether it left the public much the wiser on what a Johnson premiership would look like.
Reporters quizzed him more than once on his past controversial and offensive comments and his Brexit approach.
Johnson offered a few answers and made a few awkward dodges. Here’s what we learned.
What Johnson said:
What he didn’t say:
Johnson is asked about another comment he’s made in the past, when he was revealed to have said “F— business” in response to opposition from business leaders to Brexit.
He says he has stood up for business throughout his career. “I will stick up for every business in this country,” he says, before referencing his duties as Foreign Secretary. “You have to sell the UK abroad” in the role, and no-one would be a better salesman for the UK than him, Johnson says.
The final question returns to Brexit – he is asked what he will do if Parliament cannot agree to his plan for Brexit, and if he will commit to resign if he cannot meet his own October 31 deadline for the UK’s exit.
He replies that an “existential threat” faces both Conservative and Labour if they cannot pass Brexit, and that he does not expect lawmakers to “obstruct the will of the people.”
“Let’s come together and get this thing done,” he says to colleagues in the House of Commons – including those in the Labour Party that he attacked as Marxists a few minutes ago.
“There may be bumps in the road” on Brexit, he admits. But he swerves the question of whether he will resign if he can’t follow through on his pledge – a question which may well rear its head again should Johnson take the keys to Number 10.
“I cannot swear that I’ve always observed a top speed limit in this country of 70 mph,” Johnson says after being asked by ITV if he has done anything illegal.
The question was a nod to rival contender Michael Gove’s admission that he took cocaine as a young journalist.
But Johnson goes on to swerve the query, saying the key issue is that he does what he promises to do as a politician, listing some more of his policies as Mayor of London.
He says his team did an “astonishing job” on cutting knife crime, and praises the police across the UK.
Another reporter picks up the line of questioning, noting Johnson has previously admitted to taking cocaine.
Johnson says the encounter has been brought up “many, many times” and says the country is more interested in “what we can do for them.”
That’s a second dodge of the drug question.
Johnson is facing more grilling on language he has used in the past. There is a loud groan in the audience when Sky News Political Editor Beth Rigby brings up his past comment in which he likened Muslim women to bank-robbers.
“Of course, occasionally some plaster comes off the ceiling” as a result of a phrase he uses, Johnson says.
But he adds that one of the reasons the public feels alienated from politicians is that they feel they are “not speaking as we find, covering everything up in bureaucratic platitudes.”
“Of course I’m sorry for the offence that I’ve caused, but I will continue to speak as directly as I can,” he adds, to applause.
Johnson is probed on his past record on Brexit and on his racially divisive comments. “If you want to be prime minister, can the country trust you,” asks BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg.
Johnson says that he has not been inconsistent by saying that the UK should prepare for no-deal Brexit even though he does not want such an outcome.
“If we have to go down that route, the best way to avoid it is to, of course, prepare for it,” Johnson says.
“The team that I hope to build will hit the ground running … we will engage in the friendliest possible way” with the EU, he says, adding that Brussels will respond to a new government.
Those predictions, of course, were made by Theresa May three years ago – before a series of torturous negotiations led to her downfall.
Johnson closes his speech by pitching himself as the best-placed candidate to defeat Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in an election.
“I know the London Labour left … I know who they are,” Johnson says, attacking Corbyn and the Labour Party for fostering anti-Semitism and for its economic policies.
The group has a “contempt for the normal aspirations of millions to improve their lives,” Johnson says. “We cannot let them anywhere near Downing Street.”
He will now take questions from the media.
“We are somehow achieving Grand Prix speeds, but without firing on all cylinders,” Johnson says, arguing that Brexit will improve economic and technological opportunities for the UK.
He starts going through the headline jobs on his CV, noting a number of policies he put in place as the Mayor of London.
“I took this city through riots and strikes, and all the teething problems of the Olympics,” he says, describing organizing the 2012 event as “no picnic.”
Johnson is also widening his message from Brexit, describing what he calls an “opportunity gap” in British society and saying he will “re-knit the bonds” of the country.
“It’s time to end this debilitating uncertainty,” he says, before thanking his backers watching his event.
Johnson says he is not aiming for a no-deal Brexit, and he does not expect such a scenario to happen.
But he adds that Britain must leave the EU on October 31, its current deadline, with or without a deal. He says the UK cannot secure a good deal with Brussels unless it is serious about preparing for a no-deal break.
“After three years and two missed deadlines, we must leave the EU on October 31,” he says. “Delay means defeat. Delay means Corbyn. Kick the can again, and we kick the bucket.”
Johnson has started his pitch to become Conservative party leader. He says that the UK’s economy has grown since Britain voted leave the European Union.
“Yet we cannot ignore the morass at Westminster,” he adds. “Around the country there is a mood of disillusion, even despair” at politicians’ inability to get things done, he says.
“Now is the time to remember our duty to the people and the reasons for the Brexit vote,” Johnson says, adding that people who voted to leave “wanted to be heard.”
“Now is the time to unite this country and unite this society,” he adds.
Johnson is beginning his launch event, and will take questions from the media after concluding his speech.
He is being introduced by Geoffrey Cox, the UK’s Attorney General and a surprise backer for his campaign.
Watch the event live at the top of this page.
Boris Johnson has kept an unusually low public profile so far this year, with his upcoming press conference marking the first time in months that he will go face-to-face with the media.
Here are some of the questions Johnson could be asked.
What is your Plan B for Brexit? Johnson has made it clear he will go for a no-deal Brexit if he can’t renegotiate an agreement, but Parliament has so far refused to endorse such an approach. If Johnson isn’t open to another strategy, he could be undone by the same parliamentary gridlock that caused Theresa May’s demise.
What illegal drugs have you taken, and when? The past drug use of candidates in the race has taken center stage on British newspaper front pages in recent days, after Michael Gove admitted to taking cocaine as a young journalist.
Do you regret making racially divisive comments? Johnson has called Africans “piccaninnies” and Papua New Guineans “cannibals,” and once referred to Hillary Clinton as a “sadistic nurse in a mental hospital.” He has also likened Muslim women wearing veils to postboxes and bank robbers. Those comments are likely to face another round of scrutiny now that Johnson is setting his sights on the top job.
Boris Johnson looks like he’s already secured a high-profile backer in his bid to become prime minister.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, a hard Brexiteer and a favorite of the Conservative grassroots membership, has arrived at his launch event and greeted members of the media.
Also present is Gavin Williamson, the former Defense Secretary, and Johnson’s brother Jo – who quit Theresa May’s government last year but, unlike Boris, backs a second Brexit referendum.
Johnson is expected to make his appearance soon.
Johnson will join a lengthy list of leadership rivals, most of whom have already launched their bids. Because the Conservatives are the UK’s governing party, the winner of the race automatically becomes prime minister – and steps into a paralyzing Brexit impasse which Theresa May has tried and failed to break.
The current longlist of ten candidates will be whittled down by Conservative lamwakers, in a process that starts this week. Those running will need to pick up an increasing number of endorsements at each stage, until just two remain standing.
Those two candidates will then face a straight vote by the party’s grassroots members, with the winner announced towards the end of July.
Johnson’s hard Brexit-backing credentials are matched by several candidates in the race and will be popular with the membership. But other candidates warn that pursuing a no-deal Brexit – the route Johnson has endorsed – would cause economic damage and would fail to pass Parliament.
The former mayor of London is the bookmakers’ favorite to triumph in the race, but a series of debates and weeks of campaigning could cause a few twists in the tale.
Boris Johnson may feel that Wednesday is his date with destiny.
The former Mayor of London and Foreign Secretary has long held ambitions to reach the summit of British politics. He’s built an international profile, crafted a bumbling public persona and become a favorite of grassroots Conservative voters, but is yet to launch a concerted effort to take the keys to Downing Street.
Today, that finally changes. As Britain battles its worst political crisis since World War II, Johnson will formally kickstart his effort to replace Theresa May and become the UK’s prime minister.
He enters the race as the clear frontrunner, with lawmakers lining up behind him and Brexiteers lapping up his hard stance on leaving the EU. But longstanding opposition from a number of Conservative lawmakers and a history of gaffes and controversial comments could prove an obstacle in Johnson’s attempts.
Johnson’s press conference begins at 11 a.m. ET local time (6 a.m. ET). He’ll unveil his vision for Brexit and his plans for the country, and he’ll likely face a grilling from a few members of the media.
