Boris Johnson elected Conservative leader, slated

to be Britain's next Prime Minister

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Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Johnson in 2018
Image: Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Conservative Party members voted on Tuesday to elect Boris Johnson — former Foreign
Secretary, mayor of London, and member of Parliament — as the new Conservative leader.
Current Prime Minister Theresa May is to step down today, with Johnson succeeding her as
the Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Johnson competed for the role against Jeremy Hunt, who succeeded him as Foreign
Secretary, the United Kingdom's chief diplomat. He won with 92,153 votes, out of roughly
160,000 members of the Conservative Party that were eligible to vote. In his victory
speech, Johnson stressed his support for the Brexit movement, and reiterated that he plans
on leaving the European Union even if no agreement has been reached regarding future
relations. Parliament, however, has repeatedly voted against a "no deal" Brexit.

Johnson first entered politics when elected in 2001 as a member of Parliament. He then
served eight years as the mayor of London, from 2008 to 2016, before rejoining Parliament.
Following the UK's Brexit vote, Theresa May appointed him Foreign Secretary, which he
served as until 2018, resigning in protest to May's negotiated Brexit agreement.

Citizens of the United Kingdom do not elect the Prime Minister directly. Rather, the official
leader of the party with the most seats in Parliament is appointed Prime Minister by
the King or Queen, currently Queen Elizabeth II. In this way, the British Prime Minister is
elected indirectly, as the people vote for their members of Parliament.

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