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Narjas Zatat
Jul 10, 2019
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt finally shared the stage in a long overdue leadership debate, where they clashed over Brexit strategies, the UK’s relationship with Donald Trump and why each of them would be better suited to serve as prime minister.
Hunt accused his Tory rival of not being willing to “put his neck on the line” by pledging to quit as PM if he didn’t hit the 31 October deadline.
The pair traded verbal blows, with Hunt saying at one point that Boris "[hasn’t] answered any of my questions".
Analysis of the debate by The Independent says that though the pair landed their fair share of blows, it was Jeremy Hunt who came out on top. They wrote:
“Jeremy Hunt landed the most blows and pushed his rival well on several areas, including whether he would resign if he failed to deliver Brexit by 31 October, and whether he would rule out proroguing parliament. Johnson seemed evasive throughout, and Hunt leapt on it.
“The current frontrunner also became increasingly rattled, frequently shouting over his rival and the moderator, Julie Etchingham.”
Hunt, calm and assured, appeared the most statesmanlike, and had some good lines on Mr Johnson's trustworthiness and the detail of his promises. He accused him of a lack of leadership and prioritising tax cuts for wealthy people, and suggested that Johnson was making empty promises and failing to provide enough detail. It was a clear strategy to suggest that his rival is unfit to be prime minister.
Many people online are inclined to agree – Jeremy won the round.
Tonight’s itv debate made it absolutely clear that @Jeremy_Hunt is the only candidate with answers. This made me ev… https://t.co/0gpVLL6Xez— Sam Davies (@Sam Davies) 1562702421
Just don’t understand the appeal of @BorisJohnson, to the electorate of course, but to the Conservative members.… https://t.co/gpO6p3JCJC— Duncan Beagley (@Duncan Beagley) 1562702305
'Hamster wheel of doom' sealed last nights debate for me. Almost Churchillian. @BorisJohnson #leadershipdebate— Mark Roberts (aka Cheechio) (@Mark Roberts (aka Cheechio)) 1562743803
Boris' debate style is "loud and blustery."
Boris Johnson again getting away with ignoring most of the crucial questions. The debate favours a loud voice, a bl… https://t.co/tsF26Dh8KK— Krishnan Guru-Murthy (@Krishnan Guru-Murthy) 1562701707
Hunt didn't do enough to secure a win, others argued.
Conclusion on #ITVDebate: Jeremy Hunt performed well - better on detail and showed enthusiasm. But it wasn't a game… https://t.co/Ag0AmBHZaE— Sebastian Payne (@Sebastian Payne) 1562703180
Starkest difference between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt is personality. Boris gets all the claps for his jokes, s… https://t.co/WEs1dFJYXE— Sebastian Payne (@Sebastian Payne) 1562700882
Others thought they were equally terrible it was more of a tie.
@stantheman547 @archieluckhurst Dumb & dumber, what a dud pair of Tory tossers. #ITVdebate #leadershipdebate https://t.co/kGsjpZmqus— Jimbel1 (@Jimbel1) 1562701469
This is the worst episode of Pointless ever #leadershipdebate— Joel Taylor (@Joel Taylor) 1562705270
Boris Johnson's weakness is that he wants Brexit but can't deliver it. Jeremy Hunt's weakness is that he wants Rema… https://t.co/87BCkfWBED— Sam Zefon (@Sam Zefon) 1562688034
And there were those who argued that just because Jeremy Hunt was the public's preferred choice... it's not something to brag about given that his rival is Boris.
Love that Hunt points out that he's the public's preferred choice for PM, but that's only because he's against Bori… https://t.co/5LPUsv7pLd— Tiernan Douieb (@Tiernan Douieb) 1562699187
What a surreal state of affairs it is when listening to Boris Johnson's bluster actually makes me agree with Jeremy… https://t.co/adrXH8SLcB— Jacqui Morgan (@Jacqui Morgan) 1562702268
MP David Lammy, like many, thought the whole thing was a charade.
#itvdebate a fair reflection of the state of our politics: an awful, shallow, screechy pointless and depressing ordeal for all concerned.— Tim Walker (@Tim Walker) 1562702095
Tonight's #ITVDebate was utterly depressing. The more fanciful the rhetoric, the bigger the applause. Our discourse… https://t.co/YPYOrYOnyS— David Lammy (@David Lammy) 1562704003
The Tory leadership race is a choice between the man who broke the NHS, Jeremy Hunt, and man who will sell it to Do… https://t.co/bDAGBPSYA1— Diane Abbott MP (@Diane Abbott MP) 1562670960
Details of the debate were put under a microscope.
Not saying Boris Johnson is not great on detail, but he just got the year of the EU referendum wrong. #itvdebate— Kevin Schofield (@Kevin Schofield) 1562700991
Another #leadershipdebate over and again, not enough attention on our public services, and on the issues people car… https://t.co/K7vX1jaRsW— Reform (@Reform) 1562702280
There's this great analogy...
Wouldn’t trust either of them to deliver a pizza, let alone Brexit. Boris would get lost, bewildered and hungry and… https://t.co/uDl1ZLwnYg— Matt Shephardson (@Matt Shephardson) 1562703064
And finally, Love Island.
The two people I’d like to see voted out this evening are Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt haha send tweet #loveisland #ITVDebate— Abby Tomlinson (@Abby Tomlinson) 1562698834
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