The results are in; as expected Boris Johnson will be the new Prime Minister of Britain. According to BBC News, he won 92,153 votes to Jeremy Hunt’s 46,656, or roughly 2/3.
If those numbers seem awfully small, only dues-paying members of the Conservative Party had a vote as what he actually won was the leadership of the party. The party, in coalition with a small group of Northern Ireland unionists, has a bare majority in Commons. Its leader becomes PM.
If you’re reading the Brit news, you’ll see stories reporting this or that May cabinet minister resigning, saying they’ll not serve in a Johnson cabinet. What the stories mostly don’t say is these are people who, if they didn’t resign, Johnson would likely replace. They are known Remainers who don’t enthusiastically support Brexit.
Johnson‘s election is viewed as a party ‘plebicite’ showing strong support for leaving the EU. Expect Johnson to appoint to cabinet Tory Leavers who support Brexit.
Now let’s sit back and enjoy the show Johnson puts on.
