Johnson a ‘guaranteed disaster’ says former ERG chairman
Ridge then asks Baker about Boris Johnson.
Baker replies: “There is a lot of love for Boris Johnson and I respect that. This isn’t the time for Boris’s style. I’m afraid the trouble is because of the privileges vote, Boris would be a guaranteed disaster.
“There is going to be a vote before the House of Commons on whether he deliberately misled the house. In that vote it is guaranteed there will be a large number of Conservatives who will refuse to lay down their integrity to save him. At that point his premiership will collapse.”
Baker says there is an argument to have that vote on the first day, but it would not work. Sixty-two MPs resigned from his government over the Chris Pincher saga. “At that moment where there is a vote in the House of Commons on privilege, his premiership would collapse. It is a guaranteed nailed on failure, and we cannot let it happen.”
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The former chancellor Rishi Sunak, who has the most MPs publicly supporting him in the leadership contest, has announced he will stand.
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Sunak, who lost in the leadership election to Liz Truss earlier this summer, said he wants to “fix our economy, unite our party and deliver for our country”. The Guardian’s tally has him on 126 MPs.
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He joins Penny Mordaunt as the second candidate to officially enter the race. Boris Johnson, who met with Sunak last night, is yet to announce he will stand.
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In his statement, posted on Twitter, Sunak said: “The choice our party makes now will decide whether the next generation of British people will have more opportunities than the last.
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“That’s why I am standing to be your next prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party. I want to fix our economy, unite our country and deliver for our country.
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“I served as your chancellor, helping to steer our economy through the toughest of times.
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“The challenges we face now are even greater. But the opportunities – if we make the right choice – are phenomenal.”
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The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis.
That’s why I am standing to be Leader of the Conservative Party and your next Prime Minister.
I want to fix our economy, unite our Party and deliver for our country. pic.twitter.com/BppG9CytAK
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) October 23, 2022
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Wrapping up with the panel after the Dominic Raab interview finishes, Laura Kuenssberg asks Iain Duncan Smith whether he thinks the vote should go to the members – a hot topic in Conservative party circles. Jacob Rees-Mogg wrote an opinion piece for the Telegraph on Friday saying it was important that it did so.
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He pauses, then says: “I want my party to settle down. I want my party to recognise that it is staring over the brink of a precipice, they have to make a decision whether they want to step back.
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“I believe in the democracy process. If there are two candidates then it must go to the electorate. But it may be possible that there aren’t.”
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There then appear to be problems with the sound output on BBC One, so the end of Duncan-Smith’s comments, Kuenssberg’s wrapping up and a montage showing shots of David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson leaving Downing Street can’t be heard.
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If any remarks from the closing stages emerge later on, I’ll bring them to you.
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Final question from Kuenssberg, as she asks whether Labour would increase NHS funding in line with inflation.
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Sir Keir again does not answer in specifics, despite the presenter trying to get a “yes/no” answer.
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“We will set out what we will do with the NHS, but of course the NHS needs more money.
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“Laura, it needs more than money. My wife works in the NHS, my mum worked in the NHS, my sister works in the NHS, I ran a public service.
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“I know that of course they need more money, but I also know that it needs reform. The NHS needs to move to a preventative model, but it’s part of the answer.”
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That’s it for the Labour leader’s interview.
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Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is now being interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg. She asks which candidate he would like to face.
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He calls the leadership contest and situation in the Conservative party a “ridiculous, chaotic circus”.
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“My focus is on the millions of people who are struggling to pay their bills, now have additional anxieties about their mortgage, I know what it feels like, it happened to me and my family when I was growing up. They are fed up to the back teeth about this.
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“They could have a stable Labour government, who would restore faith in the institutions that give us market stability.”
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He calls for a general election, repeating a line he used last week before and after Liz Truss stood down.
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“They could put their party first or their country first. The country needs change, it needs stability, and to get rid of this chaos,” Sir Keir says.
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A big-name supporter coming out for Boris Johnson, Nadhim Zahawi, who briefly stood in the leadership contest this summer after a similarly short spell as Johnson’s chancellor, has said he would support his former boss.
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He said: “I’m backing Boris. He got the big calls right, whether it was ordering more vaccines ahead of more waves of Covid, arming early [Ukraine] against the advice of some, or stepping down for the sake of unity. But now, Britain needs him back. We need to unite to deliver on our manifesto.”
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I’m backing Boris. He got the big calls right, whether it was ordering more vaccines ahead of more waves of covid, arming 🇺🇦 early against the advice of some, or stepping down for the sake of unity. But now, Britain needs him back. We need to unite to deliver on our manifesto 1/2
— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) October 23, 2022
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When I was Chancellor, I saw a preview of what Boris 2.0 would look like. He was contrite & honest about his mistakes. He’d learned from those mistakes how he could run No10 & the country better.
With a unified team behind him, he is the one to lead us to victory & prosperity 2/2— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) October 23, 2022
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An interesting snippet from the Times’ political editor Steven Swinford on Johnson and Sunak’s meeting last night.
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EXCLUSIVE:
Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak *did not* strike a deal last night
Johnson told his supporters this morning that he is the only candidate with a democratic mandate
He said he wants to form a Govt that will reach 'far and wide'
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) October 23, 2022
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Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris is supporting Boris Johnson. He tells Ridge that the former prime minister is “still a vote-winner, he’s the candidate that Labour fears”.
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Heaton-Harris said he is still hoping that Johnson runs, and that he has enough nominations to run. He said that as Johnson’s former chief whip, he’s “good at knowing what the numbers are”.
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Ridge asked why the same number haven’t said so publicly.
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Heaton-Harris says: “We have already booked the appointment with Bob Blackman, secretary of the 1922 tomorrow, so we have the numbers. There are some people in government positions, and some people who might be whips or on the 22 executive, but they don’t have to come forward. In the votes, it’s a secret ballot, I guess you could say that a secret vote is part of democracy.”
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Ridge then asks Baker about Boris Johnson.
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Baker replies: “There is a lot of love for Boris Johnson and I respect that. This isn’t the time for Boris’s style. I’m afraid the trouble is because of the privileges vote, Boris would be a guaranteed disaster.
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“There is going to be a vote before the House of Commons on whether he deliberately misled the house. In that vote it is guaranteed there will be a large number of Conservatives who will refuse to lay down their integrity to save him. At that point his premiership will collapse.”
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Baker says there is an argument to have that vote on the first day, but it would not work. Sixty-two MPs resigned from his government over the Chris Pincher saga. “At that moment where there is a vote in the House of Commons on privilege, his premiership would collapse. It is a guaranteed nailed on failure, and we cannot let it happen.”
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Key events
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The former chancellor Rishi Sunak, who has the most MPs publicly supporting him in the leadership contest, has announced he will stand.
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Sunak, who lost in the leadership election to Liz Truss earlier this summer, said he wants to “fix our economy, unite our party and deliver for our country”. The Guardian’s tally has him on 126 MPs.
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He joins Penny Mordaunt as the second candidate to officially enter the race. Boris Johnson, who met with Sunak last night, is yet to announce he will stand.
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In his statement, posted on Twitter, Sunak said: “The choice our party makes now will decide whether the next generation of British people will have more opportunities than the last.
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“That’s why I am standing to be your next prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party. I want to fix our economy, unite our country and deliver for our country.
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“I served as your chancellor, helping to steer our economy through the toughest of times.
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“The challenges we face now are even greater. But the opportunities – if we make the right choice – are phenomenal.”
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The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis.
That’s why I am standing to be Leader of the Conservative Party and your next Prime Minister.
I want to fix our economy, unite our Party and deliver for our country. pic.twitter.com/BppG9CytAK
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) October 23, 2022
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Wrapping up with the panel after the Dominic Raab interview finishes, Laura Kuenssberg asks Iain Duncan Smith whether he thinks the vote should go to the members – a hot topic in Conservative party circles. Jacob Rees-Mogg wrote an opinion piece for the Telegraph on Friday saying it was important that it did so.
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He pauses, then says: “I want my party to settle down. I want my party to recognise that it is staring over the brink of a precipice, they have to make a decision whether they want to step back.
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“I believe in the democracy process. If there are two candidates then it must go to the electorate. But it may be possible that there aren’t.”
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There then appear to be problems with the sound output on BBC One, so the end of Duncan-Smith’s comments, Kuenssberg’s wrapping up and a montage showing shots of David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson leaving Downing Street can’t be heard.
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If any remarks from the closing stages emerge later on, I’ll bring them to you.
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Final question from Kuenssberg, as she asks whether Labour would increase NHS funding in line with inflation.
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Sir Keir again does not answer in specifics, despite the presenter trying to get a “yes/no” answer.
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“We will set out what we will do with the NHS, but of course the NHS needs more money.
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“Laura, it needs more than money. My wife works in the NHS, my mum worked in the NHS, my sister works in the NHS, I ran a public service.
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“I know that of course they need more money, but I also know that it needs reform. The NHS needs to move to a preventative model, but it’s part of the answer.”
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That’s it for the Labour leader’s interview.
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Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is now being interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg. She asks which candidate he would like to face.
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He calls the leadership contest and situation in the Conservative party a “ridiculous, chaotic circus”.
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“My focus is on the millions of people who are struggling to pay their bills, now have additional anxieties about their mortgage, I know what it feels like, it happened to me and my family when I was growing up. They are fed up to the back teeth about this.
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“They could have a stable Labour government, who would restore faith in the institutions that give us market stability.”
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He calls for a general election, repeating a line he used last week before and after Liz Truss stood down.
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“They could put their party first or their country first. The country needs change, it needs stability, and to get rid of this chaos,” Sir Keir says.
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A big-name supporter coming out for Boris Johnson, Nadhim Zahawi, who briefly stood in the leadership contest this summer after a similarly short spell as Johnson’s chancellor, has said he would support his former boss.
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He said: “I’m backing Boris. He got the big calls right, whether it was ordering more vaccines ahead of more waves of Covid, arming early [Ukraine] against the advice of some, or stepping down for the sake of unity. But now, Britain needs him back. We need to unite to deliver on our manifesto.”
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I’m backing Boris. He got the big calls right, whether it was ordering more vaccines ahead of more waves of covid, arming 🇺🇦 early against the advice of some, or stepping down for the sake of unity. But now, Britain needs him back. We need to unite to deliver on our manifesto 1/2
— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) October 23, 2022
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When I was Chancellor, I saw a preview of what Boris 2.0 would look like. He was contrite & honest about his mistakes. He’d learned from those mistakes how he could run No10 & the country better.
With a unified team behind him, he is the one to lead us to victory & prosperity 2/2— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) October 23, 2022
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An interesting snippet from the Times’ political editor Steven Swinford on Johnson and Sunak’s meeting last night.
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EXCLUSIVE:
Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak *did not* strike a deal last night
Johnson told his supporters this morning that he is the only candidate with a democratic mandate
He said he wants to form a Govt that will reach 'far and wide'
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) October 23, 2022
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Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris is supporting Boris Johnson. He tells Ridge that the former prime minister is “still a vote-winner, he’s the candidate that Labour fears”.
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Heaton-Harris said he is still hoping that Johnson runs, and that he has enough nominations to run. He said that as Johnson’s former chief whip, he’s “good at knowing what the numbers are”.
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Ridge asked why the same number haven’t said so publicly.
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Heaton-Harris says: “We have already booked the appointment with Bob Blackman, secretary of the 1922 tomorrow, so we have the numbers. There are some people in government positions, and some people who might be whips or on the 22 executive, but they don’t have to come forward. In the votes, it’s a secret ballot, I guess you could say that a secret vote is part of democracy.”
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Ridge then asks Baker about Boris Johnson.
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Baker replies: “There is a lot of love for Boris Johnson and I respect that. This isn’t the time for Boris’s style. I’m afraid the trouble is because of the privileges vote, Boris would be a guaranteed disaster.
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“There is going to be a vote before the House of Commons on whether he deliberately misled the house. In that vote it is guaranteed there will be a large number of Conservatives who will refuse to lay down their integrity to save him. At that point his premiership will collapse.”
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Baker says there is an argument to have that vote on the first day, but it would not work. Sixty-two MPs resigned from his government over the Chris Pincher saga. “At that moment where there is a vote in the House of Commons on privilege, his premiership would collapse. It is a guaranteed nailed on failure, and we cannot let it happen.”
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Filters BETA
Rishi Sunak announces candidacy
The former chancellor Rishi Sunak, who has the most MPs publicly supporting him in the leadership contest, has announced he will stand.
Sunak, who lost in the leadership election to Liz Truss earlier this summer, said he wants to “fix our economy, unite our party and deliver for our country”. The Guardian’s tally has him on 126 MPs.
He joins Penny Mordaunt as the second candidate to officially enter the race. Boris Johnson, who met with Sunak last night, is yet to announce he will stand.
In his statement, posted on Twitter, Sunak said: “The choice our party makes now will decide whether the next generation of British people will have more opportunities than the last.
“That’s why I am standing to be your next prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party. I want to fix our economy, unite our country and deliver for our country.
“I served as your chancellor, helping to steer our economy through the toughest of times.
“The challenges we face now are even greater. But the opportunities – if we make the right choice – are phenomenal.”
The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis.
That’s why I am standing to be Leader of the Conservative Party and your next Prime Minister.
I want to fix our economy, unite our Party and deliver for our country. pic.twitter.com/BppG9CytAK
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) October 23, 2022
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The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis.
That’s why I am standing to be Leader of the Conservative Party and your next Prime Minister.
I want to fix our economy, unite our Party and deliver for our country. pic.twitter.com/BppG9CytAK
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) October 23, 2022
Some new polling that has been published this morning, which has found that Rishi Sunak is the Conservative leadership candidate that is “most likely to restore integrity and honest leadership in British politics”.
The survey from JL Partners, in association with Tory thinktank Onward, saw Sunak lead Johnson by nearly 30% over who would be best to “stabilise the economy”.
However, in the polling carried out on Friday, Johnson led by 2% as the candidate most likely to win the next election for the Conservatives. Both he and Sunak markedly reduce Labour’s polling lead.
New poll by JL Partners for Onward shows the Tories will get a significant poll bounce under new leadership via @thetimes pic.twitter.com/GLhJb28doh
— caroline wheeler (@cazjwheeler) October 23, 2022
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IDS: ‘Conservative party staring over the brink of a precipice’
Wrapping up with the panel after the Dominic Raab interview finishes, Laura Kuenssberg asks Iain Duncan Smith whether he thinks the vote should go to the members – a hot topic in Conservative party circles. Jacob Rees-Mogg wrote an opinion piece for the Telegraph on Friday saying it was important that it did so.
He pauses, then says: “I want my party to settle down. I want my party to recognise that it is staring over the brink of a precipice, they have to make a decision whether they want to step back.
“I believe in the democracy process. If there are two candidates then it must go to the electorate. But it may be possible that there aren’t.”
There then appear to be problems with the sound output on BBC One, so the end of Duncan-Smith’s comments, Kuenssberg’s wrapping up and a montage showing shots of David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson leaving Downing Street can’t be heard.
If any remarks from the closing stages emerge later on, I’ll bring them to you.
Kuenssberg asks whether Raab understands people’s unhappiness with the government, and why Rishi Sunak would be the best man to restore credibility.
“I think Boris Johnson achieved a great many positive things. We have had the various different challenges which are unprecedented, whether it’s Covid, Brexit, the war in Ukraine. These are unprecedented times.
“I think on the fundamental calls on the economy Rishi been right. He showed on the furlough scheme why he has the experience to deliver.
“I also see, as a member of the Conservative family, there is a political mess and we all have a duty to fix it.”
Raab says Rishi Sunak is best placed to win back voters, and also points to him having the most MPs supporting him.
Kuenssberg asks whether Sunak’s record as chancellor needs scrutiny having borrowed “enormous” amounts of money.
Raab said: “We all take our responsibility. Rishi Sunak was the chancellor who saw us through with the prime minister, that huge challenge, the millions of jobs saved through the furlough scheme. The businesses kept alive, viable so we didn’t have the appalling economic and social scaring that would have been the case.
“He is also the politician who has set out the right plan to get financial stability, market confidence, inflation down, interest rates down. We talked about this all over the summer, and get this country moving forward.”
He refuses to say whether Sunak would keep Jeremy Hunt as chancellor, but says he will instead appoint “a government of all the talents”.
From Rees-Mogg to Dominic Raab, who is supporting Rishi Sunak. Raab was Boris Johnson’s deputy prime minister, and briefly was in charge of the government when the prime minister was in intensive care with Covid-19 in 2020.
Kuenssberg asks whether he knows if a deal was done last night between Sunak and Johnson in the talks that took place.
“I don’t think there ‘s any issues around deals, and I don’t think that’s the right way to proceed.
“What would that deal involve? Rishi Sunak is very clear. On that BBC tally, he has has double the number of MPs supporting him compared to Boris. We have a whole range as well as the number.
“Big beasts like Sajid Javid coming out for him, Brexiteers like Steve Baker, Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat, I think that tells you about the range of his support. What they did have was a good conversation about unity.
“I think you can see from the momentum, the growing number and range of support for Rishi, I think he is best placed. Not just the numbers, I think he has the breadth of support.
“I would love to see Boris Johnson come back to frontline politics. I am speaking personally. We have this major issue which led to him having to resign, which was Partygate, in a matter of days he is going to see televised witness testimony, including his own, which will take him back to that spiral.”
Rees-Mogg says that Kuenssberg is rewriting history, and dismissing Johnson’s achievement when she talks about mass resignations, parties in Downing Street and Boris Johnson’s fall.
“His mandate was from the country,” Rees-Mogg says. “You are looking through the wrong end of the telescope. You’ve just been talking to Sir Keir Starmer who has called for a general election.
“Boris Johnson is the man who won the mandate, so a call for a general election is pretty hollow if the man who won the mandate is prime minister.”
Jacob-Rees Mogg is being interviewed on BBC One. He says that Boris Johnson will stand for the leadership, and the two have spoken.
Rees-Mogg, a minister under Johnson, says he has been told that the 100 names are there and the former prime minister has enough nominations to get through the ballot tomorrow.
Asked if the public would accept him as PM again, Rees-Mogg said: “Boris delivered Brexit, he supported Ukraine and standing up to Russia, and he got us through a pandemic. He won a majority of 80, he won Hartlepool in a byelection.
“He has been the greatest electoral asset the Conservative party has had in modern times. If you look at a poll in the Mail on Sunday today, he appeals the most to people who voted Conservative in 2019, an extraordinary coalition.”
Starmer refuses to say if NHS funding would rise in line with inflation under Labour
Final question from Kuenssberg, as she asks whether Labour would increase NHS funding in line with inflation.
Sir Keir again does not answer in specifics, despite the presenter trying to get a “yes/no” answer.
“We will set out what we will do with the NHS, but of course the NHS needs more money.
“Laura, it needs more than money. My wife works in the NHS, my mum worked in the NHS, my sister works in the NHS, I ran a public service.
“I know that of course they need more money, but I also know that it needs reform. The NHS needs to move to a preventative model, but it’s part of the answer.”
That’s it for the Labour leader’s interview.
Kuenssberg says Starmer said this week that the economic climate means the Labour party won’t be able to do things it had previously would have planned to.
“I know that an incoming Labour government will inherit an economic mess form this government. Therefore there are things that we would like to do, good Labour things, we will not be able to do them as quickly as we would want,” the Labour leader said.
The broadcaster pushes him for details, but Starmer does not give them. He says: “We don’t know the extent of the damage and I am not going to write the manifesto on your programme. We have set fiscal rules, we have said we will pay for day-to-day spend, we will only borrow to invest, and we will get debt down as a percentage of our GDP.”
Kuenssberg asks what Labour’s economic policy would be, after Lord Mervyn King, the former head of the Bank of England, said spending and taxes would go up for everyone.
Sir Keir Starmer said: “The damage has been done to our economy and an incoming government will have to pick up a real mess of our economy of the Tories’ making.
“We don’t know the full extend of the damage, because we haven’t had an OBR [Office for Budget Responsibility] report.”
She pushes him again on whether Labour would raise taxes.
“What I have said is I know there are going to be tough choices, I said that in Liverpool three weeks ago, that mean we can’t do some of the things we would like to do as an incoming Labour government.
“We will be the party of sound money. We know the tough choices that will have to be made. A windfall tax on oil and gas companies would bring in tens of billions of pounds, non-dom tax status change, private equity fund loopholes.”
Keir Starmer says Conservative party are a ‘ridiculous, chaotic circus’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is now being interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg. She asks which candidate he would like to face.
He calls the leadership contest and situation in the Conservative party a “ridiculous, chaotic circus”.
“My focus is on the millions of people who are struggling to pay their bills, now have additional anxieties about their mortgage, I know what it feels like, it happened to me and my family when I was growing up. They are fed up to the back teeth about this.
“They could have a stable Labour government, who would restore faith in the institutions that give us market stability.”
He calls for a general election, repeating a line he used last week before and after Liz Truss stood down.
“They could put their party first or their country first. The country needs change, it needs stability, and to get rid of this chaos,” Sir Keir says.
Nadhim Zahawi backs Boris Johnson
A big-name supporter coming out for Boris Johnson, Nadhim Zahawi, who briefly stood in the leadership contest this summer after a similarly short spell as Johnson’s chancellor, has said he would support his former boss.
He said: “I’m backing Boris. He got the big calls right, whether it was ordering more vaccines ahead of more waves of Covid, arming early [Ukraine] against the advice of some, or stepping down for the sake of unity. But now, Britain needs him back. We need to unite to deliver on our manifesto.”
I’m backing Boris. He got the big calls right, whether it was ordering more vaccines ahead of more waves of covid, arming 🇺🇦 early against the advice of some, or stepping down for the sake of unity. But now, Britain needs him back. We need to unite to deliver on our manifesto 1/2
— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) October 23, 2022
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I’m backing Boris. He got the big calls right, whether it was ordering more vaccines ahead of more waves of covid, arming 🇺🇦 early against the advice of some, or stepping down for the sake of unity. But now, Britain needs him back. We need to unite to deliver on our manifesto 1/2
— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) October 23, 2022
When I was Chancellor, I saw a preview of what Boris 2.0 would look like. He was contrite & honest about his mistakes. He’d learned from those mistakes how he could run No10 & the country better.
With a unified team behind him, he is the one to lead us to victory & prosperity 2/2— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) October 23, 2022
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When I was Chancellor, I saw a preview of what Boris 2.0 would look like. He was contrite & honest about his mistakes. He’d learned from those mistakes how he could run No10 & the country better.
With a unified team behind him, he is the one to lead us to victory & prosperity 2/2— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) October 23, 2022
First reaction to the interview from Iain Duncan Smith, probably the panel member on the BBC One show whose views could be the most interesting today.
The former leader said: “What we saw there was the same problem that every one of these three candidates will face. It’s a Conservative party that can’t make its mind up whether it wants to see savings through public expenditure, or whether it wants to see higher taxes.
“The trouble is that the more you pile on through taxes, the less business investment you get and the shorter term that process is.
“I suspect any of the candidates will arrive at the same conclusion. We can’t get away from the fact we are going to see efficiency savings in public expenditure, there are other things to do as well, like the deregulation process to improve efficiency in the British economy.”
Mordaunt is asked whether the Conservatives have any legitimacy in not having a general election having changed leader twice since the country last went to the polls nearly three years ago.
“In the 2019 election we had a huge majority and mandate to deliver that manifesto,” Mordaunt says.
“The country now doesn’t need six weeks of chaos and Westminster bubble. What it needs is us to deliver. Open up access to healthcare services, all those bread and butter issues that people want to work better, that’s what we have to do. That’s our mandate. I also want us to remember that as a party that we come together and we start to work on that.”
And that’s it from her.
Mordaunt then flatly denies reports that she has been in touch with Boris Johnson’s camp trying to negotiate a job.
She doesn’t respond to Kuenssberg’s question about whether she would prefer Rishi Sunak or Johnson as prime minister, saying she is standing for a reason.
The presenter then asks whether she would be comfortable about Johnson returning to Downing Street.
“It’s not about him, it’s not about me. It’s not about us, it’s about what we do, and people be able to see a GP, it’s about people being able to get through winter without being worried about keeping the heating and the lights on.”
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