Boris Johnson THREE times more popular than closest rival after second vote in PM race – but Rory Stewart sees surge on the outside
BORIS Johnson today surged further into the lead in the race for No10 - taking nearly THREE times as many votes as his nearest challenger.
Dominic Raab was knocked out in the second round of the Tory leadership contest while outsider Rory Stewart saw an unexpected surge in support.
Mr Johnson scored another landslide victory in the second ballot of MPs this evening, taking 126 votes - ahead of Jeremy Hunt on 46 and Michael Gove with 41.
Now Boris must face down his four remaining rivals in a TV debate starting at 8pm after dodging all previous head-to-head encounters.
Sajid Javid just scraped over the line, scoring exactly 33 votes - the minimum number needed to stay in the race.
Mr Raab was eliminated, winning the backing of just 30 MPs as most Brexiteers flocked to Boris.
He tweeted: "I’m very proud of all the support I’ve had from colleagues in this leadership contest, and I’m immensely grateful to my terrific team. Good luck to all the candidates debating tonight!"
And Mr Stewart continued his unlikely run for the top job, taking 37 votes to come in fourth - up from seventh in the first ballot.
He said this evening: "Thank you for all the support - we seem to have almost doubled our vote again!"
Sources close to Mr Stewart said the result was "fantastic" and insisted he can "go all the way to the final two".
His supporter Tobias Ellwood added: "What Rory Stewart has done is electrified this campaign, and what I think is critical is that we continue to reach beyond our base.
"Look at our party - up to now we were dying - local elections, Euro elections, it has all been hideous, we've been absolutely pummelled. But here's a chance to really regroup, focus on those things that really matter to the nation."
Mr Javid has insisted he won't drop out of the race despite his fifth-place finish - a source said: "He's got every intention of going into the ballot tomorrow."
A spokesman for Mr Hunt said it was a "solid result" for the Foreign Secretary, adding: "It confirms that Jeremy is the best placed candidate to take on Boris."
Penny Mordaunt, who backs Mr Hunt, hit out at Mr Stewart's campaign and insisted he can never rally the Tory party behind him.
She said: "If Rory wants people to come together, for the people to unite behind a plan, if he wants to deliver Brexit, then what is he doing in this contest?"
A Gove source insisted: "Michael has gained support and closed the gap to second. It’s still all to play for."
Johnson told: Talk tougher
BORIS Johnson’s arch-Eurosceptic backers have told him to harden his Brexit line and publicly declare Theresa May’s EU deal is dead.
Hardliners in the European Research Group said the ex-Foreign Secretary last night promised he would rip up the fruits of the PM’s two years of negotiations.
They said he also told them in a private meeting Britain would leave the EU on October 31, no matter what.
Now, they want Mr Johnson to say so publicly, amid speculation he made different pledges to Remainers.
Former Tory leader and leading ERG member Iain Duncan Smith told The Sun: “Boris has been clear that the Withdrawal Agreement is dead.”
But rival Rory Stewart accused Mr Johnson of making conflicting promises. He said: “At least people know what I’m offering.”
Tonight the five remaining candidates will face off for the first time in a live BBC telly debate.
Then tomorrow there will be a third MPs' ballot which will see the least successful contender eliminated.
Any further rounds needed will come in quick succession on Thursday to whittle the field down to a final pair with Tory activists picking the winner in coming weeks.
Overnight candidates will be scrambling to pick up the support of Mr Raab's backers after the hard Brexiteer was knocked out.
Mr Gove tweeted this evening: "The final two should be Brexiteers who are able to take on Corbyn, unite the party and deliver Brexit."
And Mr Javid paid lavish tribute to Mr Raab, saying: "He has a major role to play with any new PM helping Britain's young people get a fair shot."
One MP in Boris's camp said: "I voted for Boris but if I was in the inner sanctum of Team Boris I would be rather disappointed by the closeness of it of, 126, because they're going to start having to manage expectations - we've only picked up 12."
Asked during the voting if he was confident he'd make it through, Mr Stewart joked: "I'm trying to persuade Gavin Williamson - apparently he's lending votes, so I'm very keen that he's going to lend me 10 or 15 votes to glide through."
Mr Williamson is running Mr Johnson's whipping operation and has reportedly been "lending" votes to Mr Hunt in a bid to hurt Mr Gove.
Top Brexiteer Andrea Leadsom told LBC this morning that Boris was the best person to get Britain out of the EU no matter what happens.
"I think he will be a very good leader for our country," she said.
And she supports his threat to walk away if we can't get what we want, adding: "For any negotiation to be successful, you have to be prepared to walk away."
“It would be a mistake to put forward two candidates to the final round who will polarise our party,” the Environment Secretary wrote.
Mr Gove also took a swipe at his leadership rival Jeremy Hunt today, saying he treated Brexit like an "unexploded bomb" rather than the key to Britain's brighter future.
On tackling knife crime, the contender vowed to help problem kids be put into London's best schools to help them succeed.
And he said he would force Premier League footie clubs to supporting schools for kids who have got into trouble.
He vowed: “I will say it will be a responsibility of every Premier League club to be involved in supporting a free school which guarantees effective support for children who have been excluded.”
Mr Gove, who was adopted at four months, said he might have become a criminal himself if he had not been so lucky. “If my life had taken a different course, who knows what would have happened,” he said.
Mr Hunt said he was "totally confident" he would be able to renegotiate the Brexit deal - despite EU leaders warning against it.
He told the Evening Standard: “I’ve not met a single European leader who doesn’t want to avoid no deal and if you put in front of them someone they are prepared to negotiate with, someone they trust — no one ever does a deal with someone they don’t trust — I am that person.”
Mr Hunt also joked he was a faster jogger than Boris, according to his protection officers he inherited from his predecessor.
Current PM Theresa May refused to give any hints about her favoured contender, telling the BBC: "I haven't told anybody who I'm voting for and I'm not going to."
A suggested party members heavily back Boris - regardless of the contender who goes up against him.
He had a healthy majority against all possible rivals, with Mr Stewart doing worst of all thanks to his pro-Remain background.
What happens next in the Tory leadership race?
June 18: Second ballot of MPs, open 3pm-5pm; Dominic Raab eliminated and remaining five candidates in live debate on BBC One, starting at 8pm
June 19: Third ballot, open 3pm-5pm; candidate with fewest votes eliminated
June 20: Fourth ballot, open 10am-12pm; candidate with fewest votes eliminated - any further ballots needed will also take place on this day
June 22: Final two candidates take part in first members' hustings, set to take place in Birmingham
July 8: Tory bosses send out postal votes to all party activists
July 22: Result announced this week - new Prime Minister takes over in time for Commons recess
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