Boris Johnson set to name new Cabinet after meeting with the Queen
Boris Johnson will officially become Prime Minister on Wednesday afternoon after meeting the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
It was revealed on Tuesday that the former London Mayor beat leadership rival Jeremy Hunt in a poll of Conservative party members to land the top job.
Johnson used his victory speech to pledge a Brexit breakthrough and vowed to unite the country, but his first task will be to heal a bitterly divided Conservative party currently engaged in a civil war over the UK’s departure from the European Union.
The former foreign secretary won a standing ovation when he appeared before Conservative MPs just hours after his victory was announced, with many saying the party now had a sense of hope for the first time in months.
But many of his hardest critics, including outgoing cabinet ministers Philip Hammond, David Gauke and Rory Stewart, stayed away from the gathering.
Later on Wednesday he will begin the rebuilding process against a backdrop of scorching heat in the capital as he announces the key roles in his cabinet.
Temperatures in London are set to reach close to 40 degrees as Johnson begins the process of reshaping British politics.
The key role of chief was revealed on Tuesday, with the widely-respected Mark Spencer, MP for Sherwood in Nottinghamshire since 2010, handed the job of enforcing party discipline. His appointment drew praise from Leave and Remain supporting Tory MPs.
Spencer has served as a whip in the Brexit department, and despite backing Remain in the 2016 referendum his appointment was welcomed by vocal Leave supporter Mark Francois, who described him as “a good choice.”
Spencer accompanied Johnson as he addressed the 1922 committee of Conservative MPs, where the soon-to-be Prime Minister received numerous cheers from the party he now leads.
The PM-in-waiting was accompanied by Sajid Javid, fuelling speculation that the current home secretary could be promoted to a top job.
One of the cheers came when Johnson reaffirmed his commitment to taking the UK out of the EU on 31 October with or without a deal.
“You could feel as we built up to the moment the tension in the room as Boris Johnson asked the party to unite around the date, and it united around the date and gave him an enormous cheer,” said former Brexit minister Steve Baker.
Johnson used his appearance to pay tribute to outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May, and his leadership rival Jeremy Hunt.
He also pledged to review the HS2 project and build more naval vessels in light of the growing tensions in the Gulf with Iran.
Despite many MPs leaving the room in a buyout mood, Tory veteran Keith Simpson struck a more exasperated tone.
“It was classically Boris – the circus has come to town,” he said, adding: “I couldn’t stand any more of it.”