Boris Johnson. Photo courtesy of Anadolu
LONDON, July 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) – British leader-in-waiting Boris Johnson vowed on Wednesday to “get Brexit done” after the ruling Conservatives chose him in a run-off to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May.
Johnson won about two-thirds of the votes from 160,000 Conservative party members in a contest with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, putting him one day away from becoming Britain’s new leader.
Addressing hundreds of party members – including his father, sister and brother – Johnson said he wants to unite Britain and “get Brexit done” by the delayed EU exit date of October 31, with or without a deal.
In brief remarks after the ballot result, he praised May for her “extraordinary service” and for her “passion and determination” in politics.
“We’re going to get Brexit done … in a new spirit of can-do,” Johnson said in a prepared victory speech.
“And like some slumbering giant we are going to rise and ping off the guy ropes of self-doubt and negativity.”
Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain’s main opposition Labour party, called for a general election, saying Johnson was chosen via an “unrepresentative” ballot.
“Johnson’s no-deal Brexit would mean job cuts, higher prices in the shops, and risk our NHS [national health service] being sold off to US corporations in a sweetheart deal with Donald Trump,” Corbyn tweeted.
Labour said it plans to hold a rally to call for a general election in central London on Thursday.
EU officials congratulated Johnson but wasted no time in signalling that the bloc won’t budge on the divorce bill it negotiated with Britain.
“We look forward to working constructively [with Johnson] when he takes office, to facilitate the ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement and achieve an orderly #Brexit,” the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, wrote on Twitter.
Barnier said Brussels is, however, ready to rework the political declaration on future relations that accompanies the withdrawal agreement.
US President Donald Trump tweeted that Johnson “will be great!” as prime minister.
Johnson has said a post-Brexit trade deal with the United States would be an early priority for him as prime minister.
May urged him to “deliver a Brexit that works for the whole UK” and to ensure the Conservatives “keep Jeremy Corbyn out of government.”
In a sign of hurdles ahead, Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon said giving Scotland the chance to choose its own future, in an independence referendum, will be “more important than ever” under Johnson.
Sturgeon, who heads Scotland’s devolved government, said she has “profound concerns” at the prospect of Johnson leading the country from Wednesday.
Sturgeon vowed to work to “block his plan for a no-deal Brexit – which would do catastrophic harm to Scotland.”
Northern Ireland’s two main political parties were divided over Johnson’s leadership, as expected.
“My job is to defend people here in Ireland. Brexit will be catastrophic for this island,” Michelle O’Neill, Irish republican party Sinn Fein’s leader in Northern Ireland, said in a statement.
But Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster, whose party worked closely with May’s government, tweeted that she “looks forward to discussing our shared objectives of strengthening the Union, delivering Brexit & restoring devolution [in Northern Ireland].”
May resigned after she failed to persuade lawmakers to back the Brexit deal she had agreed with Brussels.
Johnson is expected to make sweeping changes to her cabinet.
Hunt, who is not expected to stay in the cabinet, said Johnson would be “a great PM for our country at this critical moment!”
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