Boris Johnson has become the new leader of the Conservative Party, winning with 92,154 votes to Jeremy Hunt’s 46,656.
The Conservative confidence and supply partners in government are the DUP, and party leader Arlene Foster has offered her congratulations to Mr Johnson who will also become the new PM saying she,
“Look forward to discussing our shared objectives of strengthening the Union, delivering Brexit & restoring devolution.”
The leader of the UUP Robin Swann also offered his congratulations to the new PM whilst paying tribute to outgoing PM Theresa May.
Mr Swann said:
“I offer my congratulations to Boris Johnson on his election as the new leader of the Conservative Party and his imminent appointment as Prime Minister. At such a critical time in the history of the United Kingdom, his appointment as Prime Minister brings with it enormous responsibilities.
“At this point I would like to pay tribute to Theresa May and thank her for her service to the entire United Kingdom. One thing that was never in doubt during her tenure was her belief in the Union.
“There is now immense expectation as to the next steps the new Prime Minister will take and one of those must be the restoration of a functioning Northern Ireland Assembly. The Ulster Unionist Party is willing and able to work with Mr Johnson to ensure this happens but if that is unattainable in the short term, then he must move to ensure further critical decisions are taken by Westminster.
“The bottom line for the Prime Minister is that any decisions he takes must be in the best interests of all of the United Kingdom and that includes doing everything possible to avoid a no-deal Brexit. I urge him not to allow nationalism in Northern Ireland or Scotland to exploit the current instability for selfish political interests. I look forward to meeting Boris Johnson soon to make those points directly.”
Boris Johnson will officially take up the role of PM tomorrow after Theresa May holds her final PMQ and Mr Johnson visits the Queen.
