Boris Johnson will face Jeremy Hunt in a final vote for U.K. prime minister
Britain's race for prime minister is officially set.
Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson will face off in a runoff vote to decide the next British prime minister, a Tory leadership vote decided Thursday. Johnson, the heavy favorite to win the race, got the support of 160 MPs, while Hunt earned 77 votes, per The Associated Press. The winner of the runoff will be announced July 22.
Hunt, the foreign minister, beat his nearest competitor, Environment Secretary Michael Gove, by just two votes on Thursday. Home Secretary Sajid Javid was also edged out of the race in a vote earlier that day. Meanwhile, Johnson secured more than half of his party's support, even after his supporters reportedly "lent votes to the foreign secretary to knock out his bitter rival Gove," The Guardian writes.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Johnson is one of Britain's most recognizable political figures, previously serving as foreign secretary to outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May and as mayor of London. He's so far campaigned on pulling Britain out of the EU by the Oct. 31 deadline with or without a trade deal. May has so far been unable to deliver Brexit, requesting extensions on withdrawal deadlines and even offering up her own resignation if Parliament would agree to the deal she drew up. But even that didn't work, so May has committed to stepping down as prime minister as soon as her party chooses a new leader.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
The curious history of hanging coffinsUnder The Radar Ancient societies in southern China pegged coffins into high cliffsides in burial ritual linked to good fortune
-
The Trump administration says it deports dangerous criminals. ICE data tells a different story.IN THE SPOTLIGHT Arrest data points to an inconvenient truth for the White House’s ongoing deportation agenda
-
Ex-FBI agents sue Patel over protest firingspeed read The former FBI agents were fired for kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest for ‘apolitical tactical reasons’
-
Ex-FBI agents sue Patel over protest firingspeed read The former FBI agents were fired for kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest for ‘apolitical tactical reasons’
-
Trump unveils $12B bailout for tariff-hit farmersSpeed Read The president continues to insist that his tariff policy is working
-
Trump’s Comey case dealt new setbackspeed read A federal judge ruled that key evidence could not be used in an effort to reindict former FBI Director James Comey
-
Moscow cheers Trump’s new ‘America First’ strategyspeed read The president’s national security strategy seeks ‘strategic stability’ with Russia
-
Trump tightens restrictions for work visasSpeed Read The length of work permits for asylum seekers and refugees has been shortened from five years to 18 months
-
Supreme Court revives Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read Texas Republicans can use the congressional map they approved in August at President Donald Trump’s behest
-
Boat strike footage rattles some lawmakersSpeed Read ‘Disturbing’ footage of the Sept. 2 attack on an alleged drug-trafficking boat also shows the second strike that killed two survivors who were clinging to the wreckage
-
Trump boosts gas cars in fuel economy rollbackspeed read Watering down fuel efficiency standards is another blow to former President Biden’s effort to boost electric vehicles
