Johnson, the face of the 2016 Brexit referendum, won the votes of 92,153 members of the Conservative Party, almost twice the 46,656 won by his rival, foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt. May will leave office on Wednesday after going to Buckingham Palace to see Queen Elizabeth II, who will formally appoint Johnson before he enters Downing Street. “Like some slumbering giant, we are going to rise and ping off the guy-ropes of self-doubt and negativity." Johnson said the mantra of his leadership campaign had been to “deliver Brexit, unite the country and defeat (opposition Labour leader) Jeremy Corbyn—and that is what we are going to do". Within half an hour of his victory, US President Donald Trump had tweeted his congratulations, adding: “He will be great!".

Source: Mint July 23, 2019 16:07 UTC