Johnson, the face of the official Brexit campaign in the 2016 referendum, won the support of 114 Conservative lawmakers in the first round of the contest to replace May. Of the other 10 candidates in the first round, Jeremy Hunt, currently foreign minister, garnered 43 votes; Michael Gove, currently environment minister, garnered 37 votes and Dominic Raab, former Brexit minister, won 27 votes. After Thursday's vote, Johnson said: "Thank you to my friends and colleagues in the Conservative & Unionist Party for your support. A postal ballot of the wider Conservative Party membership will then be held to pick a leader. "After three years and two missed deadlines, we must leave the EU on October 31," Johnson, a 54-year-old former foreign minister and London mayor, said then.

Source: dna June 13, 2019 12:11 UTC