On 23/7/2019 Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson won leadership of Conservative and Unionist Party. He got 92,153 votes i.e, 66.4%. His rival Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt got 46,656 votes.
On 24/7/2019, Wednesday, after answering Prime Minister’s Questions in House of Commons Theresa May met Elizabeth II, Queen of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and resigned. Boris Johnson met the Queen who appointed him Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury. That second designation is important because 10 Downing Street is the residence of First Lord of the Treasury. Whoever is appointed Prime Minister is also appointed First Lord of the Treasury.
Boris Johnson should have become PM three years back. He was leader of Brexiteers. After David William Donald Cameron resigned after losing referendum in 2016, leadership contest of Conservative Party began. Michael Gove said he would contest and would not support Boris Johnson. This was unexpected. Boris Johnson did not contest.
Theresa May became PM. She was a Remainer. She often said “Brexit means Brexit.” Instead of first having a deal approved by House of Commons, she negotiated a deal with EU which was Brexit in name only. First time she put the deal to vote it was opposed by a margin of 320 votes. That was a humiliation. She did not resign. In subsequent months she put the deal for vote twice and lost. Brexit date of 29/3/2019 was first extended by two weeks, then up to 31/10/2019.
Meanwhile many MPs turned against Theresa May and she announced her resignation. Elimination rounds of leadership contest started. Conservative MPs in House of Commons voted in it. Boris Johnson was first in every round. In straight contest between last two contestants, voting was by all members of party.
In his first speech after becoming PM, Boris Johnson said “The doubters, the doomsters, the gloomsters – they are going to get it wrong again… The people who bet against Britain are going to lose their shirts, because we are going to restore trust in our democracy and we are going to fulfil the repeated promises of Parliament to the people and come out of the EU on October 31, no ifs or buts.”
Boris Johnson has appointed Dominic Raab as Foreign Secretary, Priti Patel as Home Secretary, Ben Wallace as Defence Secretary, Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer and Jacob Rees-Mogg as Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons. Strange that Michael Gove is Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and in charge of No-Deal Brexit preparations.
