GB News: Expert warns Boris' successor must have backed Brexit - 'Can't be a Remainer!'
A POLITICAL EXPERT has warned the Tory Party must elect a Brexiteer as leader once they have toppled Boris Johnson from the top job.
Trevor Kavanagh says he's not sure Boris will be able to stay on
Trevor Kavanagh, the Sun's former political editor, suggested during an appearance on GB News that Mr Johnson's successor as leader of the Conservative Party must have voted for Britain to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum. Speaking to ex-UKIP and Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, Mr Kavanagh said: "One of the problems with the candidates who will be running is that some of them are Remainers.
"I don't think that the Conservative Party can afford to have a Remainer as Prime Minister right now.
"Especially when you hear from people like [Michael] Heseltine and [Lord Andrew] Adonis saying that this is their opportunity to reverse Brexit.
"Whoever it was, say it was Jeremy Hunt, wouldn't have the chance of holding the party together."
But Mr Kavanagh, who backed Michael Gove over Mr Johnson for the Tory Party leadership in 2016, also said there could be a "scramble" to fill the position.
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"If and when Boris goes there will be a seller's remorse and a huge black hole left behind because there will be a scramble to fill that seat and the talent unfortunately for the Brexit side rests, in a large degree, among candidates who aren't very well-known but who are quite vocal and very articulate."
His comments came after Mr Farage suggested the frontrunners in Tory leadership contests rarely succeed in reaching the top job.
The Leave-supporting Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Remain-voting Foreign Secretary Liz Truss have established themselves as the favourites to reach the members in any leadership contest.
However, as the former MEP pointed out, the Conservative Party have seen previous favourites lose their grip on election contests, including Mr Johnson in 2016, ex-Defence Secretary Michael Portillo in 2001 and former Environment Minister Michael Heseltine in 1990.
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Other Eurosceptic MPs are also thought to be considering throwing their hats into the ring, with two-time candidate Mr Gove, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi and dark horse Penny Mordaunt all tipped to launch a bid.
Jeremy Hunt, who went head-to-head against Mr Johnson in the 2019 leadership race, is among the favourites to stand on the Remain-supporting wing of the party.
Speaking about his career ambitions, the ex-Health Secretary told House magazine: "I won't say my ambition has completely vanished but it would take a lot to persuade me to put my hat into the ring."
Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who reportedly flirted with backing Brexit in 2016, is also considered a viable option among MPs who voted to keep the UK in the Brussels bloc.
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Mr Kavanagh and Mr Farage appeared to suggest they both believe Mr Johnson will be out of a job even if he survives the 'partygate' scandal.
"I'm not sure that he will be able to stay on, even if he gets through the Gray report in the next few days and weeks," Kavanagh said.
Instead, he warned the May elections could bring Mr Johnson's time in Number 10 to an end and suggested he could trace his downfall to the loss of North Shropshire to the Liberal Democrats in December.
Farage then added "Tory abstentionism" could prove damaging for the Conservative Party's electoral fortunes when voters go to the polls on May 5.