Boris Johnson has won the Conservative leadership contest and therefore will be Theresa May’s successor as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Following weeks of competition, Johnson has come out on top after leading for weeks. Topping all of the parliamentary ballots, Johnson went on to beat Jeremy Hunt in the final battle for leadership.
Johnson received 92,153 votes compared to Hunts 46,656 of a 87.4% turnout.
Johnson is due to take office tomorrow (July 24) after May hosts her final set of Prime Minister’s Questions. May will officially resign later that day.
Today’s results, however, are not welcomed by all of the government.
Chancellor Phillip Hammond had previously announced that, if Johnson were to be elected, he would resign to Theresa May’s government rather than be sacked by the incoming Prime Minister. Justice Secretary David Gauke reiterated this reasoning as his departure from the cabinet.
Education Minister Anne Milton has become the latest Conservative to resign from the government, in the morning of the leadership announcement.
On July 22, Sir Alan Duncan, an active critic of Johnson, resigned in the wake of the forthcoming results.
The prospect of a no-deal Brexit on October 31 is drawing near, but last week MP’s blocked a bid to prevent the new Prime Minister from suspending parliment in order to force through the no-deal option.
Johnson is determined that the UK will leave the EU on October 31st: “do or die, come what may.”
The new Prime Minister is optimistic that he and his new cabinet will be able to renegotiate a deal for the UK despite the EU saying it will not re-open negotiations on the deal that was agreed with May.
Who is Boris Johnson?
Johnson was elected as the MP for Henley in Oxfordshire, a Conservative safe seat, in 2001. By 2003, Johnson was promoted to Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party by then-leader Micheal Howard.
His popularity grew with the party and the public. Johnson became the face of the freshers-based campaign “Boris Needs You” in 2006, and was considered popular amongst students.
In 2008 he was elected Mayor of London and subsequently resigned as MP for Henley. Following a successful four year term, he was reelected into office for a second term.
Johnson later returned to the green benches of the House of Commons in 2015, this time in the constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
Johnson openly endorsed the Vote Leave campaign in 2016, and was promoted to Foreign Secretary by Theresa May following her successful leadership campaign.
However, in 2018 he returned to the backbenches after resigning from May’s cabinet.
On May 24, Theresa May announced she would resign from party leader on June 7. Her resignation as Prime Minister would come once a new leader had been elected.
Johnson topped all five parliamentary ballots, with Jeremy Hunt and Micheal Gove coming in second and third place.
In the final two, Johnson and Hunt, went head to head for the membership ballot in order to become the next leader of the Conservatives and therefore the next Prime Minister.
On July 23, Boris Johnson was announced as the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
“The campaign is over, and the work begins.”
Featured image credit: Chronicle live.
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