Boris Johnson wins Tory leadership election to be next prime minister, party announces

New leader strikes typically optimistic note, vowing: ‘I say to all the doubters we are going to energise the country, we are going to get Brexit done’

Boris Johnson has won the Conservative leadership race and will become the next prime minister tomorrow.

The former foreign secretary – who has vowed to carry out a “do or die” Brexit by 31 October – beat his rival Jeremy Hunt in a ballot of Tory members, the party announced.

Mr Johnson secured the landslide win he was seeking, winning 92,153 votes against 46,656 cast for Mr Hunt – a two-to-one margin.

He reminded activists and MPs at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre of his campaign slogan “Deliver Brexit. Unite the country. Defeat Jeremy Corbyn”, adding; “That is what we are going to do.”

Noting that the slogan spelt out “DUD”, he said he would add an extra “E for energise”, telling his audience: “I say to all the doubters, ‘Dude, we are going to energise the country’.

“We are going to get Brexit done on October 31. We are going to take advantage of all the opportunities that it will bring in a new spirit of can-do. And we are once again going to believe in ourselves and what we can achieve.”

However, Mr Johnson takes power exactly 100 days until the current Brexit deadline, after the EU granted the UK an extension to avoid a crash-out departure in March.

And he suffered another ministerial resignation just moments before the result was announced, when skills minister Anne Milton quit citing “grave concerns about leaving the EU without a deal”.

Jeremy Corbyn immediately pointed to the new leader’s lack of a mandate, having been picked by only the tiny minority of the public who make up the Conservative faithful.

“Boris Johnson has won the support of fewer than 100,000 unrepresentative Conservative Party members by promising tax cuts for the richest, presenting himself as the bankers’ friend, and pushing for a damaging no-deal Brexit,” the Labour leader tweeted.

“But he hasn’t won the support of our country.”

A YouGov poll underlined the huge challenge Mr Johnson has in convincing the public, finding he is less popular than when than Theresa May began her premiership.

Half of respondents said they expected him to be a “poor” or “terrible” prime minister – while 46 per cent fear he will worsen the UK’s reputation abroad.

Mr Johnson was due to address Tory backbenchers at a meeting of the 1922 Committee in Westminster and thank campaign staff before spending the bulk of the afternoon putting the finishing touches to his cabinet.

He is expecting to fill most of the top cabinet jobs on Wednesday evening, after returning from the Palace and delivering a speech in front of Downing Street’s famous black door.

The only member of the new government to have been told of their upcoming appointment is the chief whip, but the only detail of identity which his team have let slip is that the post has been taken by a man.

It is understood Mr Johnson has not yet decided whether to address the Commons on Thursday, when it breaks up for the summer recess. And there was no confirmation of a rumoured speech outside the capital later in the week.

It is also not known whether his partner Carrie Symonds will join him at Number 10.

US President Donald Trump was among the first to congratulate the new Tory leader – inaccurately saying that he was now PM.

“Congratulations to Boris Johnson on becoming the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He will be great!” tweeted Trump.

Even more inaccurately, the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump congratulated Mr Johnson on “becoming the next prime minister of the United Kingston”.

Mr Hunt - who prepared a winner's speech but had no opportunity to deliver it - said Johnson would make a "great prime minister" .

"I always knew that it was going to be a big mountain to climb," the foreign secretary told the BBC.

"It's a challenging moment for our country - this is perhaps the most difficult legacy that a prime minister has inherited in peacetime. It's going to be very challenging.

"But he has got the confidence and the optimism and the energy to get us through this and that's why I think he will be a great prime minister."

It is unprecedented for an incoming prime minister to suffer a spate of ministerial walkouts even before reaching No 10 – underlining the gargantuan task facing the new leader.

Philip Hammond, the chancellor, will quit to lead the Commons fight against a no-deal Brexit, with justice secretary David Gauke and Rory Stewart, the international development secretary, set to join him.

Mr Johnson will inherit a Commons majority of just two, which is set to fall to just one if the Liberal Democrats win the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election next week.

Some of his aides are already wargaming a snap autumn general election, as the likely only way to meet his pledge to leave the EU on Halloween “deal or no deal”.

The EU reinforced its refusal to renegotiate the existing Brexit divorce deal, pointing out he “will be confronting the exact same situation as Theresa May”.

Green MEP Philippe Lamberts, a member of the European Parliament’s Brexit steering group, said Mr Johnson would fail if he tried “having your cake and eating it, he is on record saying that.

And Nigel Farage, the Brexit Party leader, fired a warning, saying: “It is ‘do or die’ not just for Brexit, but for the future of the Conservative party too. Does he have the courage to deliver for the country?”

But Tory MPs on both sides of the Brexit divide appeared ready to give Mr Johnson time to prove himself.

The deputy chair of the eurosceptic European Research Group, Steve Baker, said: “We are all very willing to give him every chance to succeed. I am absolutely confident that he is going to deliver on our promises.”

And pro-EU former Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said: “I think probably Boris will work extremely hard to try to pull people together. I think the vast majority of colleagues will want to give him a chance and help him succeed.”