Jeremy Hunt poised and polished, but not the 'real thing' on Brexit
The foreign secretary's exclusive interview on Sky News sees him lay out his pitch for leaving the EU, but is it enough?
Tuesday 2 July 2019 09:36, UK
He was relaxed, poised and - mostly - confident. Jeremy Hunt has all the poise and polish of the experienced senior politician.
He has none of the bluster and unpredictability of his rival, Boris Johnson. But then he doesn't have Mr Johnson's rock star status, charisma or love affair with the Tory faithful.
He's the former Remainer accused by Mr Johnson's supporters of being the candidate who brings more of the same failed policies of Theresa May on Brexit.
So, on Sky News, with Mr Johnson declining to turn up to debate against him, his big message was that he is the candidate who has a plan and can deliver Brexit.
But because he's predictable, that means the foreign secretary peddles the same slogans and the same phrases about his background and his record - over and over again.
Throughout this campaign he has been accused of flip-flopping on his Brexit policy, but on his slogans and soundbites about his background, his personality and his record he couldn't be more consistent.
Or indeed, repetitive.
I've lost count, for instance, of the number of times I've heard Mr Hunt say during the Tory leadership hustings and interviews: "My dad was in the Navy."
He says it as often as we hear Home Secretary Sajid Javid and London's mayor Sadiq Khan say: "My dad was a bus driver."
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In an hour-long interview with Sky News' Kay Burley, they were almost the first words uttered by Mr Hunt.
In fact, his father was Admiral Sir Nicholas Hunt GCB LVO DL, who was Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet from 1985 to 1987. So yes, his dad was in the Navy!
Another familiar theme during this campaign has been: "What a shame Boris isn't here."
And we heard it again here, though to be fair, he was prompted on that by a question from Kay Burley.
But the message we hear over and over again - and heard about a dozen times here on Sky News - is: "I'm someone who comes from business background."
Then came: "As someone who has set up his own business..."
On the £39bn demanded by Brussels for leaving the EU, he said: "As a businessman I pay my bills on time."
And the biggest boast was: "I've spoken to President Trump businessman to businessman."
Then again, he said: "When I was starting a business..."
And then: "I know what it's like when a business is under pressure."
And, inevitably, he boasted: "I will be the first prime minister who has been a businessman."
We learned a bit more, though, in a question about the Union, about Mr Hunt's background: "I've got Welsh blood in me, Irish blood in me and I spent two happy years of my childhood in Scotland."
On his privileged background - head boy at Charterhouse public school - after Kay revealed that at 19 she lived in a council house and worked in Asda, he claimed he felt "deeply uncomfortable" about his public school privilege.
Then, answering a question about climate change, there was a boast about Jeremy the eco-activist at home: "We use metal straws rather than plastic straws."
We also heard the well-worn joke about suggested slogans for his campaign, which we've heard at previous hustings. Make sure you say these carefully: "Take a punt on Hunt", "Jezza the Bezza" and "Hunty-McHuntface".
But amid the trite slogans, we learned that, unlike Boris Johnson, Mr Hunt rules out shutting down Parliament if MPs try to block no-deal, he's not tied to the October 31 Brexit deadline and he won't withhold the £39bn.
Those admissions won't endear him to the hard-line pro-Brexit activists who make up the majority of the Tory party membership.
The moment when he lost his poise and looked uneasy was when Kay asked him towards the end of the hour about abortion. Now was not the time to change the law in Northern Ireland, he said.
But this election, for most of the Tory activists who will be voting, is about Brexit, Brexit and Brexit.
And while Mr Hunt may have the poise and the public school charm - and the often-repeated pro-business slogans - his problem is that for most of the Tory electorate he's a late convert to Brexit, while for them Boris Johnson is the real thing.