This archive report was first published on 24 July 2019.
On July 24, 2019, Boris Johnson became the 14th Prime Minister of Queen Elizabeth's reign, succeeding Theresa May. He will head to Downing Street later to take office after an audience with the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
Johnson's top team is expected to reflect 'modern Britain,' with a focus on increasing the number of women in full cabinet positions and boosting the representation of ethnic minorities. He won a decisive victory over Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in a ballot of Tory members, gaining a 66.4% total share of the vote.
Conversations are said to be 'ongoing' between Hunt and Johnson about the foreign secretary's next role. Johnson has stated that his priorities are to deliver Brexit, unite the country, and defeat Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Johnson will inherit a wafer-thin parliamentary majority and, like his predecessor, will continue to rely on the support of the Democratic Unionists of Northern Ireland to govern. Labour, the Lib Dems, and the SNP have said they will oppose Johnson over Brexit, although they have stopped short of threatening an immediate vote of no confidence.
