Boris Johnson wins race to be UK prime minister

Brexit hardliner Boris Johnson has won the race to lead Britain’s governing Conservative Party, and will become the country’s next prime minister.

He defeated his rival Jeremy Hunt overwhelmingly in a vote of Conservative Party members.

He will be installed as prime minister in a formal handover from Theresa May on Wednesday.

The victory is a triumph for the 55-year-old Johnson, an ambitious but erratic politician whose political career has veered between periods in high office and spells on the sidelines.

Johnson has vowed that Britain will quit the European Union, “come what may,” on the scheduled Brexit departure date of Oct. 31 even if it means leaving without a divorce deal

But he faces a rocky ride from a Parliament determined to prevent him from taking the U.K. out of the bloc without a withdrawal agreement.

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8:30 a.m.

Britain’s governing Conservative Party is set to reveal who the name of the country’s next prime minister, with Brexit champion Boris Johnson the strong favorite to get the job.

Party officials will announce Tuesday whether Johnson or rival Jeremy Hunt has won a ballot of about 160,000 Conservative members.

The winner replaces Theresa May, who announced her resignation last month, and will officially become prime minister on Wednesday.

It will be a huge upset if the winner is not Johnson, who has wooed Conservatives by promising to succeed where May failed and lead the U.K. out of the European Union on the scheduled date of Oct. 31 – with or without a divorce deal.

Several Conservative ministers have already announced they will resign to fight any push for a “no-deal” Brexit.

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