Boris johnson: tory leadership favourite's 'breathtaking weakness'

After the first round of voting in the Tory Leadership race, Mr Johnson has stormed ahead with 114 votes. This puts him head and shoulders above his nearest challengers: Jeremy Hunt who

secured 43 votes, followed by Michael Gove on 37 votes and Dominic Raab on 27 votes. Launching his bid to be Prime Minister yesterday, the former Foreign Secretary declared he had the “guts

and courage” to take the UK out of the EU by October 31 – deal or not. However, he has one big weakness according to Ken Livingstone, who went head-to-head with Mr Johnson twice in the

battle to be Mayor of London, losing both times. Mr Livingstone was the first Mayor of London from 2000-2008 but was then beaten by Mr Johnson in 2008 and 2012. The veteran left-winger said

his former opponent’s weakness is that he wants to be loved by everyone, even his political adversaries. In 2012, when the pair were campaigning to be Mayor of London they had a heated

debate on LBC, during which both men accused the other of being a tax avoider. READ MORE: Boris Johnson: Why Thatcher was HUGE fan of Tory leadership hopeful After the programme, it was

reportedly Mr Johnson who sought to make up, Mr Livingstone told a 2013 BBC documentary ‘Boris Johnson: The Irresistible Rise’. Mr Livingstone said: “What I found amazing was here is someone

who very well may be Prime Minister one day, may have to lead the nation, and he was worried that I was angry with him. “And this is a breathtaking weakness in a politician – he wants to be

loved, even by the people he’s destroying.” That said, Mr Livingstone noted that Mr Johnson had other qualities that made him a “formidable opponent”. He said Mr Johnson’s humour and

ability to make people feel good about themselves were powerful qualities that not many people possess. He added that these traits allow him to “get away with a lot”. Mr Livingstone told the

documentary: “I recognised immediately when he said he was going to run this was going to be my most formidable opponent – because people laugh, you know. “I would never miss Have I Got

News For You when he was on – I would almost fall off the chair. “That’s a very powerful quality. “Boris makes people feel good about themselves, it’s an incredibly powerful force to have in

politics, not many people have that.” Mr Johnson is currently favourite for the top job with bookmakers, as Betfair offer odds of 4/9 on the 54-year-old. After the first round of votes,

Andrea Leadsom, Esther McVey and Mark Harper are out of the running, as all failed to get the minimum 17 votes to progress to the next round.