Boris Johnson wins Conservative leadership race, will be Britain's next prime minister

Boris Johnson wins race to become British prime minister
(Image credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Britain's governing Conservative Party announced Tuesday that former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson won the internal Tory race to replace Theresa May as party leader and Britain's next prime minister. Johnson and his last remaining rival, current Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, campaigned heavily for the job, lobbying the fewer than 200,000 Conservative Party members who voted in the race for Britain's next leader.

Johnson will be sworn in as prime minister on Wednesday, and his first major challenge will be to follow through on his pledge to complete Britain's exit from the European Union in just over three months. Johnson was a leading proponent of Brexit, the issue that drove May from office. May congratulated him and pledged her support.

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In his acceptance speech, Johnson laid out a new leadership slogan and not-quite-British acronym, DUDE.

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Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was less optimistic, noting that Johnson's idea of getting Brexit "done" includes leaving the EU without a deal.

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But Johnson, a former journalist and London mayor, has long wanted to be prime minister, and he has one full day to bask in his accomplishment before having to actually lead Britain. Peter Weber

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Peter Weber

Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.