Analys: Hunt kan förena – men Johnson har en fördel

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, journalist and popular historian who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Uxbridge and South Ruislip since 2015, having been the MP for Henley from 2001 to 2008. He was Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016, and from 2016 to 2018 he served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. A pro-Brexit member of the Conservative Party, Johnson identifies as a one-nation conservative and has been associated with both economically and socially liberal policies. Born in New York to wealthy upper-middle class English parents, Johnson was educated at the European School of Brussels, Ashdown House, and Eton College. He read Classics at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was elected President of the Oxford Union in 1986. He began his career in journalism at The Times but was sacked for falsifying a quotation. He later became The Daily Telegraph's Brussels correspondent, with his articles exerting a strong influence on growing Eurosceptic sentiment among the British right wing. He was assistant editor of the Telegraph from 1994 to 1999 and edited The Spectator from 1999 to 2005. He was elected MP for Henley in 2001, and served in the Shadow Cabinet under Conservative leaders Michael Howard and David Cameron. He largely adhered to the Conservatives' party line but adopted a more socially liberal stance on issues like LGBT rights in parliamentary votes. Selected as Conservative candidate for the 2008 London mayoral election, Johnson defeated Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone and resigned his seat in the House of Commons. During his first term as Mayor of London, he banned alcohol consumption on much of the capital's public transport, championed London's financial sector, and introduced the New Routemaster buses, cycle hire scheme, and Thames cable car. In 2012 he was re-elected, again defeating Livingstone. During his second term he oversaw the 2012 Summer Olympics. In 2015 he was elected MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, stepping down as Mayor the following year. In 2016, Johnson became a prominent figure in the successful Vote Leave campaign to withdraw the United Kingdom from the European Union. He was appointed Foreign Secretary by Theresa May, but resigned in criticism of May's approach to Brexit and the Chequers Agreement two years later. Johnson is a controversial figure in British politics and journalism. Supporters have praised him as an entertaining, humorous, and popular figure with appeal beyond traditional Conservative voters. Conversely, he has been criticised by figures on both the left and right, who have accused him of elitism, cronyism, dishonesty, laziness, and using alleged racist and homophobic language. Johnson is the subject of several biographies and a number of fictionalised portrayals.

Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs since 2018. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Surrey since 2005. Hunt identifies as a one-nation conservative; he has been associated with both economically liberal and socially liberal policies. He has been characterised as a "metropolitan liberal" by the Financial Times and he campaigned for remain in the 2016 EU referendum. Hunt is a candidate for Leader of the Conservative Party in the 2019 leadership contest. The son of a senior officer in the Royal Navy, Hunt was born in Kennington and studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was President of the Oxford University Conservative Association. He was first elected to the House of Commons in 2005, and was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Disabled People and later as Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Hunt served in the Cameron Government as Culture Secretary and Minister for the Olympics from 2010 to 2012, where he spearheaded the drive for local TV, resulting in Ofcom awarding local TV broadcasting licences to several cities and towns. Hunt also oversaw the 2012 London Olympics, which received widespread acclaim. He served as Health Secretary from 2012 until 2018. As Health and Social Care Secretary, he oversaw the imposition of a controversial new junior doctors' contract in England after the failure of negotiations. During the dispute, junior doctors undertook multiple strikes, the first such industrial action for forty years. Hunt was re-appointed Health Secretary in the May Government; and was appointed to the additional portfolio of social care in England in January 2018. On 3 June 2018, Hunt became the longest-serving Health Secretary in British political history. The following month, he was appointed Foreign Secretary, following the resignation of Boris Johnson over the Chequers Agreement.