On May 24, 2019, former Mayor of London Boris Johnson released a message announcing his candidacy in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election. On July 23, 2019, Johnson, defeated former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jeremy Hunt
| Boris Johnson for Prime Minister 2019 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Campaign | 2019 Conservative Party leadership election |
| Candidate |
|
| Affiliation | Conservative Party |
| Status |
|
| Launched | May 24, 2019 |
| Headquarters | London |
| Key people |
|
| Slogan | Get Brexit Done Build Back Better |
| Website | |
| www.borisjohnson.co.uk/ | |
Information
editTheresa May, after failing to pass her Brexit withdrawal agreement through parliament three times, announced her resignation as prime minister on 24 May 2019 amidst calls for her to be ousted. Boris Johnson (a key person in the Vote Leave campaign who had served as the Mayor of London and had also served as Foreign Secretary) had already confirmed at a business event in Manchester days earlier that he would run for Conservative Party leader if May were to resign.
Prior to his state visit to the United Kingdom, US President Donald Trump endorsed Johnson for party leader in an interview with The Sun, opining that he thought Johnson "would do a very good job." In the Conservative Party leadership election, Johnson won all five rounds of voting by MPs, and entered the final vote by Conservative Party members as the clear favourite to be elected. On 23 July, he emerged victorious over his rival Jeremy Hunt with 92,153 votes, 66.4% of the total ballot, while Hunt received 46,656 votes. These results were announced an event in the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster.
In his first speech as prime minister, Johnson paid tribute to his predecessor Theresa May, and said "No one in the last few centuries has succeeded in betting against the pluck and nerve and ambition of this country. They will not succeed today. We in this government will work flat out to give this country the leadership it deserves, and that work begins now.