Boris Johnson was elected as leader of the UK's Conservative Party and is set to become the nation's next Prime Minister even as Britain remains mired in the Brexit controversy.
Johnson, the clear favourite during the 46-day long process to elect a new leader, defeated Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in the final ballot involving 159,320 party members. Johnson got 92,153 votes, beating Hunt (46,656) by a large margin.
Johnson has paid tribute to his rival Jeremy Hunt after beating him in the Conservative leadership contest. He said Mr Hunt is a "font of excellent ideas" and he promises to steal them. He also paid tribute to outgoing PM Theresa May for her service to the country before and remained firm on his earlier promise to adhere to the Brexit deadline.
"I will work flat out from now with my team which I will build in the next few days to repay your confidence but in the mean time the campaign is over and the work begins," he said.
The new Prime Minister is expected to spend some time finalising his key Cabinet and ministerial posts soon after the results. A number of Brexiteers, including Indian-origin MPs Priti Patel and Rishi Sunak – both supporters of Johnson, are expected to be part of his new team.
Theresa May, who chaired her last Cabinet meeting on Tuesday at Downing Street, will address her final Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday and then be driven to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen.
The 93-year-old monarch will then invite the new PM-elect to form a government, following which he will make his first speech as Prime Minister on the steps of Downing Street on Wednesday evening.
The new PM will then chair his first Cabinet meeting a day after, on Thursday morning.
