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- Boris Johnson will be the United Kingdom’s next prime minister after beating Jeremy Hunt.
- The former foreign secretary comfortably defeated Jeremy Hunt in the contest to replace Theresa May among Conservative party members.
- The former foreign secretary will make a victory speech in central London this afternoon.
- He will also appoint key members of a new-look Cabinet today.
- Johnson’s "do or die" pledge to leave the European Union by October 31 sets him on a collision course with parliament, which has repeatedly voted against a no-deal Brexit.
LONDON — Boris Johnson will become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom after comfortably beating Jeremy Hunt in the race to replace Theresa May as Conservative leader.
Johnson won with 66% of the vote. He received 92,153 votes compared to 46,656 for Hunt, on a turnout of 87.4%.
Johnson, who was the overwhelming favourite to win the contest since it got underway, is set to unveil an ambitious domestic policy agenda when he makes a victory speech in central London this afternoon.
He will also be under pressure this afternoon to address pressing questions about who will be in his Cabinet, how he will resolve the Brexit crisis, and how he might govern with a wafer-thin House of Commons majority.
Voting among the 165,000-strong Conservative membership closed at 17:00 (BST) on Monday.
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Opposition Labour Party, called on Johnson to hold a general election.
"Boris Johnson has won the support of fewer than 100,000 unrepresentative Conservative Party members by promising tax cuts for the richest, presenting himself as the bankers’ best friend, and pushing for a damaging No Deal Brexit," he said.
"But he hasn’t won the support of our country.
"Johnson’s No Deal would mean job cuts, higher prices in the shops, and risk our NHS being sold off to US corporations in a sweetheart deal with Donald Trump.
"The people of our country should decide who becomes Prime Minister."
US President Donald Trump congratulated Johnson, who he said would be "great" as prime minister.
Michel Barnier, the European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator, said he was looking forward to working "constructively" with the new UK prime minister.
The result, announced by Conservative party’s 1922 committee of MPs, marks the end of a month-long battle between Johnson and Hunt that was at times bruising for the incoming prime minister, and included 16 hustings, TV interviews, and campaign visits.
Speaking ahead of Johnson’s expected victory, leading supporter Michael Fallon, who is tipped for a Cabinet job, said that "our MPs across the Conservative Party will be willing the prime minister on.
He added: "They’ll be ready now to unite behind him in this task, which of course is challenging: to get Brexit done. But we need to do that and Boris Johnson will give us that fresh start."
Jacob Rees-Mogg, another leading supporter, said: "I think Boris will be good for the country because he’ll deliver on his promise to leave EU and he’ll do that by 31 October."
"He’ll be good for the Conservative Party as he has the electoral stardust that makes him attractive and a unifying figure across the country."
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
Johnson’s "do or die" pledge to deliver Brexit by October 31, as well as his central role in the Leave campaign, ultimately gave him the edge over Jeremy Hunt in a contest which was dominated by Brexit.
He has prioritised renegotiating the Brexit deal agreed by outgoing prime minister May and the EU, specifically removing the contentious backstop for avoiding a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
He has said he would be prepared to take the UK out of the EU on Halloween without a deal if necessary.
A number of Conservative MPs have said they will vote against Johnson in order to prevent a no-deal Brexit.
This group includes Chancellor Philip Hammond, International Development Secretary Rory Stewart, and David Gauke, who announced his resignation as Justice Secretary as Johnson delivered his victory speech.
Johnson’s speech this afternoon is expected to look beyond Brexit and outline a domestic policy agenda involving social care, school funding, and boosting regional business.
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Perhaps Johnson’s biggest problem is the wafer-thin parliamentary majority he will inherit.
If, as expected, the Conservatives lose the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election to the Liberal Democrats on August 1, he will be governing with a working majority of just one.
The Conservative majority was reduced this week when Charlie Elphicke, the MP for Dover, was charged with three counts of sexual assault against two women.
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See Also:
- ‘He’s going to do a great job’: Trump says Boris Johnson will ‘straighten’ out Brexit after ‘poor job’ done by May
- Boris Johnson asked whether Angela Merkel was in the Stasi and questioned why Leo Varadkar isn’t ‘called Murphy like all the rest of them?’
- MPs vote to block Boris Johnson from forcing through a no-deal Brexit
Source: Business Insider – tcolson@businessinsider.com (Thomas Colson)