<p class="title">Former London mayor Boris Johnson on Tuesday won the race to become Britain's next prime minister, defeating Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in the Conservative Party leadership contest.</p>.<p>Johnson defeated Hunt by 92,153 votes to 46,656 votes cast by members of the Conservative party. He will officially replace outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Boris Johnson will face a confrontation over Brexit with Brussels and members of his own party as well as a tense diplomatic standoff with Iran.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The former London mayor easily beat his rival, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, in a poll conducted among members of the governing Conservative Party.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He is expected to be confirmed as prime minister on Wednesday, when his predecessor Theresa May formally tenders her resignation to Queen Elizabeth II.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It is a triumph for a man who has always wanted the top job, but Johnson, known for his jokes and bluster, is taking over at a time of immense political upheaval.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Three years after the referendum vote to leave the European Union, Britain remains a member, after twice delaying its exit amid continued wrangling in a divided parliament -- and the country -- on how to proceed.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Johnson led the 2016 Brexit campaign and has said the latest deadline of October 31 must be kept, with or without a divorce agreement with the EU.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But Brussels says it will not renegotiate the deal it struck with May, which was designed to ease the end of a 46-year partnership but which MPs have rejected.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A majority of lawmakers are against a "no deal" Brexit, including many of Johnson's colleagues.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Three cabinet ministers have already said they will not serve under Johnson, saying that severing ties with Britain's closest trading partner with no new arrangements is deeply irresponsible.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The government's official forecaster said last week that Britain will slide into a year-long recession should it leave the EU without a deal.</p>.<p class="bodytext"><strong>The Brexit deadline</strong></p>.<p class="bodytext">Westminster is watching for any early challenge to the new Conservative leader from within his party, which could stop him automatically becoming prime minister.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Barring that, he will be confirmed by Queen Elizabeth on Wednesday before moving straight into Downing Street.</p>.<p class="bodytext">With just months before the Brexit deadline, Johnson is expected to hit the ground running, announcing his cabinet and other top posts in the next few days.</p>.<p class="bodytext">May's government currently has a majority of just two in the 650-seat House of Commons, made possible through an alliance with the 10 MPs from Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).</p>.<p class="bodytext">Finance Minister Philip Hammond and two other cabinet ministers have already announced they will step down, as has junior foreign minister Alan Duncan.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Duncan revealed he had sought to force a vote on Johnson's leadership on Tuesday -- before he enters Downing Street -- but was blocked by Commons Speaker Johnson Bercow.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, the main opposition Labour party is not currently expected to force a confidence vote this week.</p>.<p class="bodytext">And retiring Justice Secretary David Gauke said that while he disagreed with Johnson's strategy, he was willing to give him a chance.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I think he needs to be given an opportunity to go out there to engage with the European Commission," Gauke told BBC radio.</p>.<p class="bodytext">MPs are expected to go on their summer holidays on Friday, giving Johnson some breathing room over the summer to try to get a new Brexit deal.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But when he returns, if "no deal" looks likely, several Conservative MPs warn they will try to stop him -- a move that could trigger an early election.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Johnson wooed Tory members -- and before that, Tory MPs, who backed him over Hunt by a wide margin -- with a promise to deliver Brexit but also to take the fight to their political rivals.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The opposition Labour party under veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn is currently slightly ahead in opinion polls.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But both main parties face a major challenge from Nigel Farage's eurosceptic Brexit Party on one side, and the pro-EU Liberal Democrats on the other.</p>.<p class="bodytext"><strong>Tensions with Iran</strong></p>.<p class="bodytext">Johnson's domestic battles might have to take a backseat during his first days in office as he manages tensions with Iran.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Foreign Secretary Hunt has branded as "state piracy" Iran's seizure of Stena Impero in the strategic Strait of Hormuz last Friday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It came two weeks after Britain held an Iranian tanker off Gibraltar on suspicion of breaching sanctions on Syria.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The standoff comes amid escalating tensions between Iran and the United States over the Islamic republic's nuclear ambitions.</p>
<p class="title">Former London mayor Boris Johnson on Tuesday won the race to become Britain's next prime minister, defeating Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in the Conservative Party leadership contest.</p>.<p>Johnson defeated Hunt by 92,153 votes to 46,656 votes cast by members of the Conservative party. He will officially replace outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Boris Johnson will face a confrontation over Brexit with Brussels and members of his own party as well as a tense diplomatic standoff with Iran.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The former London mayor easily beat his rival, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, in a poll conducted among members of the governing Conservative Party.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He is expected to be confirmed as prime minister on Wednesday, when his predecessor Theresa May formally tenders her resignation to Queen Elizabeth II.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It is a triumph for a man who has always wanted the top job, but Johnson, known for his jokes and bluster, is taking over at a time of immense political upheaval.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Three years after the referendum vote to leave the European Union, Britain remains a member, after twice delaying its exit amid continued wrangling in a divided parliament -- and the country -- on how to proceed.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Johnson led the 2016 Brexit campaign and has said the latest deadline of October 31 must be kept, with or without a divorce agreement with the EU.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But Brussels says it will not renegotiate the deal it struck with May, which was designed to ease the end of a 46-year partnership but which MPs have rejected.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A majority of lawmakers are against a "no deal" Brexit, including many of Johnson's colleagues.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Three cabinet ministers have already said they will not serve under Johnson, saying that severing ties with Britain's closest trading partner with no new arrangements is deeply irresponsible.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The government's official forecaster said last week that Britain will slide into a year-long recession should it leave the EU without a deal.</p>.<p class="bodytext"><strong>The Brexit deadline</strong></p>.<p class="bodytext">Westminster is watching for any early challenge to the new Conservative leader from within his party, which could stop him automatically becoming prime minister.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Barring that, he will be confirmed by Queen Elizabeth on Wednesday before moving straight into Downing Street.</p>.<p class="bodytext">With just months before the Brexit deadline, Johnson is expected to hit the ground running, announcing his cabinet and other top posts in the next few days.</p>.<p class="bodytext">May's government currently has a majority of just two in the 650-seat House of Commons, made possible through an alliance with the 10 MPs from Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).</p>.<p class="bodytext">Finance Minister Philip Hammond and two other cabinet ministers have already announced they will step down, as has junior foreign minister Alan Duncan.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Duncan revealed he had sought to force a vote on Johnson's leadership on Tuesday -- before he enters Downing Street -- but was blocked by Commons Speaker Johnson Bercow.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, the main opposition Labour party is not currently expected to force a confidence vote this week.</p>.<p class="bodytext">And retiring Justice Secretary David Gauke said that while he disagreed with Johnson's strategy, he was willing to give him a chance.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I think he needs to be given an opportunity to go out there to engage with the European Commission," Gauke told BBC radio.</p>.<p class="bodytext">MPs are expected to go on their summer holidays on Friday, giving Johnson some breathing room over the summer to try to get a new Brexit deal.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But when he returns, if "no deal" looks likely, several Conservative MPs warn they will try to stop him -- a move that could trigger an early election.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Johnson wooed Tory members -- and before that, Tory MPs, who backed him over Hunt by a wide margin -- with a promise to deliver Brexit but also to take the fight to their political rivals.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The opposition Labour party under veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn is currently slightly ahead in opinion polls.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But both main parties face a major challenge from Nigel Farage's eurosceptic Brexit Party on one side, and the pro-EU Liberal Democrats on the other.</p>.<p class="bodytext"><strong>Tensions with Iran</strong></p>.<p class="bodytext">Johnson's domestic battles might have to take a backseat during his first days in office as he manages tensions with Iran.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Foreign Secretary Hunt has branded as "state piracy" Iran's seizure of Stena Impero in the strategic Strait of Hormuz last Friday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It came two weeks after Britain held an Iranian tanker off Gibraltar on suspicion of breaching sanctions on Syria.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The standoff comes amid escalating tensions between Iran and the United States over the Islamic republic's nuclear ambitions.</p>