We apologise for not being swept away by the mania for new announcements that infests this leadership contest.
We also have the result from yesterday evening’s ’92 Group hustings – in which Johnson scooped almost half the vote.
So no more dropouts after Sam Gyimah’s departure earlier this afternoon. The first ballot will be held on Thursday.
Also: don’t cut members out of the contest. And the right exam question for candidates is: who can best win a general election?
Each week, we’ll be summarising the announcements made by those vying to succeed May as Prime Minister.
The vocation of the front-runner is not to mess up. And he hasn’t. Indeed, he has picked up support – and upped the pace.
Plus: Sympathy for the Downing Street SpAds. The case for chemical castration. And: my interviews with the Tory leadership candidates.
Stewart comes under fierce criticism as candidates float Northern Irish proposals; Scottish Tories’ campaign against Johnson peters out; and more.
He leaves the field as the 1922 Committee agrees and announces rules for the conduct of the election.
We see no reason why the bottom three, say, shouldn’t fall out each time – rather than just the one, as previously.
Each week, our panel of John O’Sullivan, Rachel Wolf, Trevor Phillips, Tim Montgomerie and Marcus Roberts will analyse and assess what’s happening.