Boris Johnson leaves little doubt he wants top job

Boris Johnson delivered a barnstorming speech to the Tory faithful yesterday, saying it was time to “let the British lion roar” as he called for Brexit to be a moment of national renewal.

Cabinet Brexiteers David Davis, Liam Fox and and Michael Gove also spoke passionately yesterday about the possibilities for Britain once it leaves the EU. But it was the Foreign Secretary who brought Tory members to their feet, delivering an upbeat vision that some interpreted as a thinly veiled leadership pitch.

In an address that, according to the Daily Mail, “roamed well beyond his ministerial responsibilities, to cover issues such as low pay, childcare and green technology”, Johnson vowed that the UK would not “bottle out” of Brexit and dismissed pessimistic predictions of the damage it might cause.

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“We can win the future because we are the party that believes in this country and we believe in the potential of the British people,” he said.

“We are not the lion. We do not claim to be the lion. That role is played by the people of this country. But it is up to us now – in the traditional non-threatening, genial and self-deprecating way of the British – to let that lion roar.”

Turning his fire on Labour, Johnson joked that Jeremy Corbyn was “Caracas” (i.e. crackers) for his support for socialist regimes in countries including Venezuela, but admitted the Conservatives needed to do more to make capitalism “work better” for people.

He also played down claims of division within the Cabinet, praising Theresa May’s “steadfast” leadership on Europe and saying that he and his colleagues agreed with “every syllable” of her recent Florence speech about Brexit.

Yet following criticism of Johnson’s recent interventions on Brexit - which prompted speculation about a leadership challenge and calls from some MPs for him to be replaced - May and other key ministers were notably absent during the highly anticipated speech. The BBC says the Prime Minister was believed to have read it in advance.

Back-pedalling on Brexit

After the backlash following his Brexit interventions, Johnson appeared to back-pedal on Monday night by insisting he was in complete agreement with the PM’s vision for Brexit.

The title of his speech was changed at the last minute, from “Let the lion roar” to “Winning the future” , to be more inclusive, according to The Daily Telegraph’s Rosa Prince. She says the Foreign Secretary managed to “strike a tricky balance” and “draw back from the precipice” of a leadership challenge while signalling “that the band could well be persuaded to get back on the road any time in the not too distant future”.

“As a display of deference, it was minimal - about as little as Johnson could plausibly get away with,” says The Guardian, but given the choice between accepting collectively responsibility or resigning, it seems clear he has decided to stay in the tent, for now at least.

Meanwhile on the Continent

The European Parliament has offered up a savage assessment of Britain’s Brexit negotiating strategy after overwhelmingly passing a motion calling on EU leaders to delay the next phase of talks.

MEPs voted by 557 to 92, with 29 abstentions, in favour of the resolution, which says “sufficient progress has not yet been made” on major divorce issues, including the rights of EU citizens, the Northern Irish border and the so-called Brexit divorce bill.

MEPs agreed it would take a “major breakthrough” in the fifth round of talks in Brussels next week to move to the next phase of negotiations and agree a post-Brexit trade deal in time for a European Council summit later this month.

While non-binding, the vote is a “blow to Theresa May”, says The Independent, not least because “the views of MEPs are crucial as they have a veto over any final Brexit agreement”.

The PM will make her key speech to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester later today. The European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt, said he hoped May would use the speech to provide more “clarity” on her government’s plans for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.