Is Jeremy Hunt continuity Theresa May? It’s an allegation that is repeatedly thrown around by supporters of his leadership rival Boris Johnson. MPs have nicknamed the Foreign Secretary ‘Theresa in trousers’ owing to the idea that he isn’t all that different from the current prime minister. The Hunt campaign have been at pains to fight this idea – in an interview with The Spectator, he told me:
‘Don’t confuse continuity for loyalty. I have served two prime ministers completely loyally over the last nine years, but I would be quite different to both.’
The problem is Hunt has made a series of comments which have prompted Tory MPs to worry that he would be a similar type of leader. His Brexit strategy leaves space for him to extend Article 50 – as May has done – so long as he believes a better deal is possible.
Last week, he was criticised for suggesting Northern Ireland veterans should be treated ‘the same’ as IRA terrorists – the comments drew comparisons with May’s approach.
Now Hunt has added another issue to the list: fox-hunting. In an interview for Christopher Hope’s Daily Telegraph podcast, Hunt is asked whether he would hold a vote to repeal the fox-hunting ban as prime minister:
‘I would as soon as there was a majority in Parliament that would be likely to repeal the fox hunting ban, then I would support a vote in Parliament. I would vote to repeal the ban on fox hunting. It is part of the countryside. And we have to recognise that in terms of the balance of the countryside. You know, it’s part of our heritage.’
To say the comments have landed badly with Hunt’s MP supporters would be an understatement. Conservative MPs in urban seats are particularly incensed. The reason? Theresa May’s support for fox-hunting in the 2017 election was seen as one of the reasons the Tories fared worse than most polls predicted. Viral stories on the Tories and fox-hunting turned off many swing voters.
Given that Hunt keeps talking about winning over Liberal Democrat voters the comments seem particularly misjudged. As for the Tory membership, it may be that Hunt thinks this will help him with Tory members in rural areas.
However, Hunt allies stress that this is not part of any planned campaign push. Hunt’s biggest problem is that it just adds to the idea that he represents continuity from Theresa May. Whether or not Tory members support fox-hunting, few want a new prime minister much like the one that came before.
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