BORIS Johnson is the right man to be our new Prime Minister.

The Sun believes that. More importantly, so do our readers.

We also believe Jeremy Hunt, after his terrific leadership campaign, must be kept in one of the most senior ­Cabinet jobs if Boris wins.

Britain needs Boris in Downing Street at this crucial point in our ­history.

He projects optimism and determination, the perfect antidote to the last three years of Brexit agony.

He has a gift for communication and an infectious humour that inspires voters, even those not normally inclined to vote Tory.

He is a winner, twice elected Tory Mayor of left-leaning London because millions recognised him as the tolerant and inclusive politician he is and not the hard-right caricature Remainers now pretend.

Only Boris could have led the Leave campaign to victory in 2016 — and we believe only he possesses the belief and doggedness to secure Brexit and win back voters from Nigel Farage’s party.

LASER-LIKE FOCUS

Both Boris and Mr Hunt made excellent pitches to Sun readers, in our paper two weeks ago and in their fascinating and feisty head-to-head debate at our HQ on Monday night.

It is clear both are focused on helping working families. But it is equally clear who our readers prefer.

Some 75 per cent of 1,000 polled after the debate thought Boris won it.

Just over half want him as PM, only a third preferring his rival. We value those views. Sun readers know a ­winner when they see one.

Which is not to say we don’t have a few reservations about Prime Minister Johnson.

Can he maintain the laser-like focus he will need? Will his instinct to shoot from the hip, which has served him so well for so long, hurt him as PM as it did as Foreign Secretary?

Will he be smart enough to appoint the best of the best in every Cabinet and advisory role — regardless of their background — and listen to them?  Likewise, will he heed the wise counsel of expert voices among his allies, such as Iain Duncan Smith?

The Tory Party now has three immediate tasks.

To deliver Brexit, with a better deal or none, to unite our divided country and to save our ­economy from the wrecking ball of ­Corbyn’s Marxism.

After that it must capitalise on our new independence outside the EU by striking trade deals worldwide and ­lowering taxes to create a more dynamic economy. That will turbo-charge growth, raise our standard of living, attract huge amounts of foreign investment, create jobs and generate billions more for public services.

Boris is best placed to do all of it. Better placed than Mr Hunt, a former Remainer and Theresa May loyalist who is unlikely to appeal much to Brexit voters.

ADMIRABLE RESOLVE

But it would be madness to demote or sideline Mr Hunt.

His own ideas to benefit Sun readers — lower taxes, a huge house building programme and major investment in defence — were right on the money.

For all the hatred piled on to him as Health Secretary he steered the NHS with admirable resolve in hard times and as Foreign Secretary has been skilful, measured and statesmanlike. And during this leadership campaign he has been commendably unafraid to call out Boris — always the red-hot favourite to be his new boss — on his weaker points.

Where Boris is all vision and broad brushstrokes, Mr Hunt is strong on detail. And Boris, should he win, will need to keep talents like Mr Hunt and Sajid Javid close as he delivers Brexit and sees off Corbyn’s anti-Semitic and anti-democratic rabble.

The Sun has no vote in the matter, of course. Unless you’re a Tory member, ­neither do you.

But our readers have made their choice clear and we agree with them.

Boris is our best bet to get Britain back on track and surging into a golden new era.

ONLY ONE RUNNER IN THE POLL — AND IT'S NOT HUNT

SUN readers last night resoundingly backed front-runner Boris Johnson to replace Theresa May as Prime Minister.

In a poll of more than 1,000 readers, 75 per cent said he performed better than Jeremy Hunt in their face-off during The Sun/talkRADIO debate.

Mr Hunt was praised by just 15 per cent, with ten per cent unable to decide who did best.

Analysis of online reaction during the debate also showed the most used hashtag was Bojo’s campaign tag #BackBoris, deployed by both MPs and his grassroots supporters.

The winner of the leadership campaign will be announced on July 23 and take office the next day. Here some Sun readers give their views:

BORIS has to be the next PM. This is not just based on policy but on charisma and leadership. He blew Hunt out of the water.

Hunt seems like a nice, capable guy but we have had far too many dreary PMs who quite frankly can’t inspire anyone.

Boris can reinvigorate our politics at a time when it is badly needed.

Luke Russell, Yorkshire

IT looks very likely that Boris Johnson will win the race to become our next Prime Minister.

Jeremy Hunt seems to agree with almost every word Boris utters and it seems to me as if Mr Hunt is doing his utmost to keep his feet under the Cabinet table.

No wonder we can never trust a politician.

Brian Henry, Suffolk

I’M a single mum and I’m backing Boris because he seems to really believe in Britain and British people.

He wants to make a proper success of Brexit.

I found Jeremy quite boring during the debate and I don’t think the EU will take him seriously when they say he’s willing to walk away without a deal.

He claims to be passionate about the country, but it doesn’t show when he speaks.

Tanya Armstrong, Putney, South West London

THE Sun’s Boris v Jeremy showdown revealed more about each candidate than any of their previous encounters.

The Sun was the only paper to have the vision to stage an event with insightful questions being asked to get the answers that the British public need.

Whoever wins has a golden opportunity to deliver on Brexit. Britain can become great again.

Stephen Turnbull,

Co Durham

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