BRITAIN: Boris Johnson in the lead as next conservative party leader after topping votes

Boris Johnson has come out ahead in the first round of the MPs’ ballot for leader of the Conservative Party.

Mr Johnson got 114 votes, ahead of Jeremy Hunt on 43, Michael Gove on 37 and Dominic Raab on 27, as five contenders were forced to bow out after failing to reach the threshold of 17 votes on Thursday, 13 June.

Read also: Israel considers taking over east Jerusalem- Report

In his speech while launching his leadership bid on Wednesday, Mr Johnson vowed to push through Brexit and defeat insurgent parties.

The former Foreign Secretary made much of his record as Mayor of London between 2008 and 2016, when he claimed to have cut the murder rate and built 100,000 affordable homes.

Although Aljazeera disclosed that he did not mention that most of those homes were only 80 percent of market rent, critics say they was not affordable.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now