July 23, 2019

 

Britain's Conservative Party announced Tuesday that Boris Johnson has won the election to be its new leader and become the country's next prime minister.

Johnson defeated British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in the voting that ended Monday night by a margin of 66% to 34%.

 

"We are going to unite this amazing country and we are going to take it forward," Johnson told party members after he was announced as the winner.

He pledged to deliver Britain's exit from the European Union on October 31 and to unite and energize the country with efforts to improve education, infrastructure and police.

Johnson will officially replace Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday as she steps down following repeated failures to deliver Britain's exit from the European Union.

 

He thanked May in his address for "extraordinary service" to the party and the country.

In Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated Johnson and said "He will be great!"

 

The Brexit process was meant to be concluded in late March, but while EU officials have indicated no interest in renegotiating the divorce terms that Britain's parliament has rejected three times so far, they did agree to push the deadline to October 31.

 

Johnson, a populist former foreign secretary under May and mayor of London, has expressed a willingness to withdraw Britain from the EU at that time with or without an agreement in place.  Many members of parliament oppose a no-deal Brexit, saying such a move would be economically chaotic.

 

 

Photo:Webshot.