By Ben Kerrigan-
Home Secretary Sajid Javid has discounted Conservative forerunner Boris Johnson as yesterday’s man as he launched his campaign for the leadership contest to replace Theresa May who tendered her final resigned from office last week.
Speaking at a launch event, Javid dismissed Boris Johnson as “yesterday’s news, as he presented himself as the best future prime minister to handle the Brexit crises that has divided both parliament and the nation ever since the Uk agreed to leave the EU. Javid’s comments came after Mps in parliament voted to keep a Brexit ‘no deal’ as an option for the British government , in the face of months of fruitless discussions to break the deadlock in negotiation talks between the Uk and The EU.
Increasing frustration from the British public has driven contenders from all corners of Westminster to queue up for Britain’s top job, each proposing to end the nightmare of stale mate talks hindering progress on this historical issue. The Uk has been unable to implement Article 50 and formally leave The EU, warning signs of the impending danger of leaving without a deal being a worrying issue for many observers and experts.
Johnson, who has held several highly placed positions in the British government, including Mayor of London and Foreign Secretary is determined to execute Brexit, with or without a deal by October this year to prevent never ending talks over the political crises. The veteran politician has always expressed optimism in the success of Brexit, but has already been charged to court for allegations that he lied about the amount of money the Uk had been paying the EU for being in Europe.
Claims made by Johnson that the Uk pays £350m a week to The EU led to business man Martin Ball to lodge the private prosecution after claiming that Johnson deliberately misled the public in relation to that figure. Johnson is undeterred by that potentially devastating obstruction, but has started his own leadership contest campaign for Downing Street.
Leadership Contest Favourite: Boris Johnson
FRESH
Javid however believes the country needs a fresher voice on Brexit which he can provide. The Home Secretary said the Tories needed a “new kind of leadership from new kind of leader”. Javid highlighted his background as an international banker before he joined politics, as a factor that would give him an edge in handling Brexit successfully.
Any hope of Javid becoming prime minister will require overwhelming support from fellow Mps, out numbering Johnson’s supporters. Javid said: ”I’m a change candidate. Boris Johnson is yesterday’s news.
He’s been around in politics for a while, he’s achieved a lot, he’s still got a big role to play, but I think if we are trying to connect with the next generation and move forward as a country then I think it’s time for the next generation with a bold new agenda. What I can do in terms of the policies, I think being able to articulate the policies, it’s not just about articulating that core message – I think the messenger makes a real difference as well, he said:
When I look at my own experience of doing deals – big international deals in the 19, 20-year career I had before I came into politics – I started at the bottom of the finance industry and finished towards the top, and that was because I built a reputation of doing many multibillion-dollar deals, including some of the largest financing and bond transactions the world had ever seen. And they weren’t easy. They weren’t straightforward. They were all involving negotiation, involving competition to win the deals.
So, while I think no one has got perfect experience to deliver Brexit because no one has done anything like it before, I think with that experience that I’ve got outside government and the experience I’ve got in government … I think I’m in a very good position to get a good Brexit deal for the United Kingdom. Boris Johnson remains the favourite to get the prime minister’s job, having lost a golden opportunity to become rime minister when Theresa May got the post in 2016.