Jeremy Hunt appears to struggle for an answer when asked why people should vote Tory

‘[Vote] because you believe in Conservative policies,’ foreign secretary says

Jeremy Hunt appeared to struggle to explain why people should vote Conservative while speaking at an event in London.

The foreign secretary said voters should opt for his party “because you believe in Conservative policies".

When pressed again at an event on Tuesday, he tried to give a fuller answer.

“Okay, let me give you another reason,” he said, according to The Guardian.

“Let me have another stab at it.

“Because we are not going to solve this problem by retreating to populist extremes.”

Mr Hunt’s comments come ahead of the 23 May European elections, with a new poll predicting that the Conservative Party could come fifth, as Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party surges.

The Tories also lost more than 1,300 council seats in this month’s local elections.

On Tuesday the Cabinet minister said both the Conservatives and Labour would be “crucified” by voters if they failed to solve the current Brexit stalemate.

“Both of us will be crucified by our base if we went into a general election having promised that we would respect the referendum result, not having respected it,” he said.

“And I think the lesson of the local elections is that the downside for Labour is as big as the downside for us.

“I don’t think it’s impossible that there could be a deal there.”

Cross-party talks between Labour and the Conservatives are continuing but both sides have expressed frustration at a lack of progress.

“I think it’s actually impressive that it’s lasted as long at it has,” he said.

“But, I don’t think anyone can be confident of an outcome one way or the other.”

Despite the ongoing deadlock the 52-year-old insisted that there was no need for a second referendum or a general election.

“I think you can never discount any of these potential outcomes,” he said.

“But I think a general election and a second referendum are my least likely outcomes because Brexit divides all the parties.

“It is difficult to see how a general election, particularly, changes the situation, and I also think it is very, very unpopular for MPs, for understandable reasons.”

Asked if the next Tory leader would embrace the option of a no-deal, the foreign secretary said: “I think it is very difficult... to get a successful outcome to a negotiation if the other side thinks you will never walk away.

“And I think in a way, that has been part of the reason why we have come to the impasse in the current negotiations, because the other side, Europeans, have sensed that the UK isn’t prepared to walk away, and that has meant that they have not been prepared to be as flexible as they might otherwise have been.”

“No-deal remains the default legal position and we continue to make preparations for a no-deal scenario,” Theresa May’s spokesperson said in response to Mr Hunt’s comments.

“Parliament has, however, clearly expressed the view that it wants the UK to leave with a deal and that is what the PM is working to deliver.”

Additional reporting by agencies