Javid to Press on With U.K. Tory Leadership Bid: Brexit Update

By: Kitty Donaldson | Jun 19 2019 at 03:34 AM | International Trade

Conservative members of Parliament will vote in the next stage of the contest to elect a new party leader and British prime minister on Wednesday. Boris Johnson surged ahead of his rivals in the ballot on Tuesday. Dominic Raab was eliminated, and Rory Stewart claimed to be winning over some of Raab’s supporters.

Must read: Boris Johnson Extends Lead in Race to Become U.K. Prime Minister

Key Developments

Conservative MPs vote again on Wednesday; results at 6 p.m.
Johnson declined to guarantee he would take Britain out of the bloc on Oct. 31, saying only the deadline is “eminently feasible.” He promised to leave the bloc with terms that “protect the U.K.”
Labour will move toward backing a second referendum, Times reports

Javid Not Planning to Withdraw (8:30 a.m.)

Home Secretary Sajid Javid, who scraped through the ballot Tuesday with 33 supporters—the minimum needed to get through to Wednesday’s round—said he would not withdraw from the leadership contest. “I’m in in it to win it,’’ Javid told ITV’s Good Morning Britain program.

Javid repeated his assertion that the best way to deliver Brexit is to do a deal with the European Union, arguing his experience in business qualified him to negotiate with the bloc.

“The biggest mistake we made on this is about three years ago, we walked into the negotiating room, we put our hands on the table and we let them handcuff us to the table,’’ he said. “Now we need someone to unlock those handcuffs, and I can do that.’’

Stewart: Raab’s Supporters Now Backing Me (7.25 a.m.)

International Development Secretary Rory Stewart, who doubled the number of Conservative members of Parliament supporting his leadership bid in a ballot Tuesday, said some of eliminated candidate Dominic Raab’s backers are now behind him.

“I had a couple this morning” of Raab supporters pledging support, Stewart told BBC radio Wednesday. While pro-Brexit Raab had been determined to take Britain out of the European Union by Oct. 31, Stewart’s approach is more consensual. Seeking a deal through Parliament is “the only door out of the room,” he said.

Stewart attracted comment for removing his tie half-way through Tuesday evening’s debate. He conceded the format of the BBC show had not worked very well for him. Later, he joked to the broadcaster that he felt the discussion was moving into an alternative universe and that removing his tie might help restore a sense of reality.

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