Boris Johnson has been elected new Conservative leader in a
ballot of party members and will become the next UK prime minister.
He defeated Jeremy Hunt comfortably, winning 92,153 votes to
his rival's 46,656. The former London mayor takes over from Theresa May on
Wednesday.
Johnson began his acceptance speech by praising his
predecessor, saying it had been "a privilege to serve in her
cabinet". He promised the audience
he would "deliver Brexit, unite the country and defeat Jeremy
Corbyn".
Outgoing PM Theresa May congratulated Johnson, promising him
her "full support from the back benches". Almost 160,000 Conservative
members were eligible to vote and turnout was 87.4%. Johnson's share of the
vote - 66.4% - is slightly lower than the share won by David Cameron in the
2005 Tory leadership election (67.6%).
