London — Former London Mayor Boris Johnson has been chosen by his party to become Britain’s next prime minister. He will replace Theresa May, who was forced to resign amid a bitter feud in the U.K. — and within both her and Johnson’s Conservative Party — over Britain’s exit from the European Union.
As CBS News correspondent Charlie D’Agata reports, the new leader of America’s closest ally is one of Great Britain’s most prominent figures, and probably a familiar face to many Americans.
By a quirk of British politics, Johnson was not elected by the general public but instead chosen to lead by about 160,000 registered Conservative Party members. He won with 92,153 votes to rival Jeremy Hunt’s 46,656 — a margin of almost two to one.
The new prime minister will officially take office on Wednesday, when May formally resigns the post. Johnson thanked his opponent in the leadership contest, Hunt, and May in remarks to gathered party members in London after the results of the election were announced on Tuesday.
Johnson vowed to “unite this amazing country and take it forward” while pulling it out of the European Union to “take advantage of all the opportunities that it (Brexit) can bring,”
He replaces the beleaguered May, who was forced out after repeatedly failing to deliver a deal for Britain to leave the EU that the British Parliament could agree on.
Source :OCB News
