Boris Johnson: Voters don't want 'political kerfuffle' of new PM
The top Tory is playing down talk he could replace Theresa May during a trip to New Zealand, where he is pushing for a trade deal.
Tuesday 25 July 2017 10:28, UK
Boris Johnson has dismissed talk of a leadership bid, claiming British voters "see no need for any more political kerfuffle".
The Foreign Secretary has been touted as a possible replacement for Theresa May in 10 Downing Street, following the Tories' disastrous General Election result.
But Mr Johnson appeared to rule out challenging the Prime Minister while speaking on a trip to New Zealand.
Referring to a shout of "Boris for PM" that greeted him at a ceremony in capital Wellington, Mr Johnson told a press conference: "I also spotted a protester who took a diametrically opposed view.
"What the British people want to see is a government that gets on with the job and they've got that with Theresa and we are going to deliver a great Brexit deal.
"A deal that works for our European friends, for the UK, but also works for New Zealand.
"What the British people want to see is us getting on with the job. They see no need for any more political kerfuffle."
Mr Johnson has used his trip to New Zealand to push for progress on a post-Brexit trade deal and stated the country will be "at or near the front of the queue" for an agreement when the UK quits the EU.
New Zealand's foreign minister Gerry Brownlee used the same press conference to state there is a "strong interest" in concluding a free trade agreement between the two countries, after Britain gains the right to sign such deals after Brexit.
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Asked if Government "infighting" could hinder Britain in trade discussions, Mr Johnson insisted Conservative splits following the party's loss of their House of Commons majority - which forced them to sign a £1bn deal with the Democratic Unionist Party - had "completely passed me by".
He said: "Let's be clear, the election did not evolve entirely in the way the Government had hoped or would have wanted... I'm going to put that out.
"But the Labour Party did not win, they were 50 seats behind. We have a workable system of getting stuff through the House of Commons... we have workable majority with our friends from Northern Ireland."
Mr Johnson, who fronted the Vote Leave campaign during the EU referendum, vowed Brexit would not signal "Britain turning away from the world".
His New Zealand trip comes after a visit to Japan and before he heads to Australia, during a nine-day international tour.