Boris Johnson has been elected new Conservative leader in a ballot of party members and will become the next UK prime minister tomorrow.
The former foreign secretary – who has vowed to carry out a “do or die” Brexit by 31 October – beat his rival Jeremy Hunt in a ballot of Tory members, the party announced.
Mr Johnson secured a landslide, winning 92,153 votes against 46,656 won by Mr Hunt – a two-to-one margin.
Hailing his victory, he was typically optimistic, vowing: “I say to all the doubters we are going to energise the country, we are going to get Brexit done
“We are once again going to believe in ourselves and what we are going to do.”
However, Mr Johnson takes power exactly 100 days until the current Brexit deadline, after the EU granted the UK an extension to avoid a crash-out departure in March.
And he suffered another ministerial resignation just before the result was announced, when skills minister Anne Milton quit citing “grave concerns about leaving the EU without a deal”.
Jeremy Corbyn immediately pointed to the new leader’s lack of a mandate, having been picked by only the tiny minority of the public who are Conservative members.
“Boris Johnson has won the support of fewer than 100,000 unrepresentative Conservative Party members by promising tax cuts for the richest, presenting himself as the bankers’ friend, and pushing for a damaging No Deal Brexit,” the Labour leader tweeted.
“But he hasn’t won the support of our country.”
It is unprecedented for an incoming prime minister to suffer such walkouts even before reaching No 10 – underlining the gargantuan challenge facing the new leader.
Philip Hammond, the chancellor, will quit to lead the Commons fight against a no-deal Brexit, with justice secretary David Gauke and Rory Stewart, the international development secretary, set to join him.
Mr Johnson will inherit a Commons majority of just two, which is set to fall to just one if the Liberal Democrats win the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election next week.
Some of his aides are already wargaming a snap autumn general election, as the likely only way to meet his pledge to leave the EU on Halloween “deal or no deal”.
The EU reinforced its refusal to renegotiate the existing Brexit divorce deal, pointing out he “will be confronting the exact same situation as Theresa May”.
Green MEP Philippe Lamberts, a member of the European Parliament’s Brexit steering group, said Mr Johnson would fail if he tried “having your cake and eating it, he is on record saying that.