Boris Johnson wins Tory leadership contest to become new UK prime minister
The Conservative leadership race is over, and Boris Johnson has beat off competition from fellow Tory MP Jeremy Hunt to become the next British prime minister.
Boris Johnson has secured his position as the new Conservative leader and next UK prime minister, after party members elected him over rival Jeremy Hunt in a landslide victory.
Johnson beat Hunt easily, securing 92,153 votes to his 46,656
The former Mayor of London will enter Downing Street on Wednesday taking the reins from former British prime minister Theresa May.
Boris Johnson vows to deliver Brexit
After his victory, Johnson stepped up to the podium at the Queen Elizabeth II centre in London and promised to ‘deliver Brexit, unite the country and defeat Jeremy Corbyn’.
‘We are going to get Brexit done on 31 October and take advantage of all the opportunities it will bring with a new spirit of can do,’ he said.
‘We are once again going to believe in ourselves, and like some slumbering giant we are going to rise and ping off the guy ropes of self-doubt and negativity,’ he added.
Senior Tory ministers set to resign following Boris Johnson’s victory
UK Education Minister Anne Milton announced her resignation via Twitter minutes before the official leadership result was announced.
‘Having abstained in the vote last week, today I have resigned from the Government,’ Milton said.
‘It has been an honour to serve on the Conservative frontbenches, my thanks to everyone I have had the pleasure of working alongside.’
Milton joins a raft of fellow cabinet ministers resigning in the wake of Johnson’s victory, with Chancellor Philip Hammond, Justice Secretary David Gauke and International Development Secretary Rory Stewart all stepping down over the new prime minister’s Brexit strategy.
US President Donald Trump congratulates new British PM
Shortly after Johnson’s victory was announced, US President Donald Trump reached for his mobile phone to hastily congratulate him.
‘Congratulation to Boris Johnson on becoming the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,’ Trump tweeted. ‘He will be great.’
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