Jul 24, 2019

Boris Johnson becomes U.K. prime minister

Axios

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson meets with Queen Elizabeth II. Photo: Victoria Jones/AFP/Getty Images

Boris Johnson officially became the U.K.'s prime minister on Wednesday after his meeting with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

The big picture, via Axios' Dave Lawler: He now has 99 days to fulfill his promise to bring the country out of the European Union by Halloween, with or without a deal. Johnson says a "no-deal" exit, which would have major economic repercussions for the U.K. and the world, is preferable to another delay, despite a parliamentary majority prepared to act to block it.

Go deeper: Everything you need to know about Brexit

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Rebecca Falconer

Boris Johnson forms "war cabinet" to prepare for no-deal Brexit

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Photo: Lorne Campbell/WPA Pool/Getty Images

Boris Johnson, the United Kingdom's newly installed prime minister, has set up a "war cabinet" to deliver Britain's exit from the European Union "by any means necessary" by Oct. 31, the Sunday Times first reported.

The big picture: The EU says it won't renegotiate the Brexit withdrawal treaty agreed to by former Prime Minister Theresa May, per AP. Michael Gove, tasked by Johnson to "turbo-charge" no-deal Brexit plans, wrote in the Sunday Times that the U.K. government is now "working on the assumption" of a no-deal Brexit.

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Zachary Basu

Brexit countdown: The scramble to build barriers to Boris

Boris Johnson visits the Fusion Energy Research Centre at the Culham Science Centre on August 8, 2019 in Abingdon, England. Photo: Julian Simmonds - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Boris Johnson has ordered the U.K.'s civil service to make preparations for a no-deal Brexit its "top priority," a directive that comes the same week the government has reportedly drawn up plans to stop British diplomats from attending EU meetings.

Why it matters: 3 weeks into his premiership, Johnson appears hell-bent on fulfilling the campaign promise that paved his path to Downing Street: delivering Brexit on Oct. 31, "do or die."

The optionsArrowAug 15, 2019
Zachary Basu

U.K. speaker vows to stop Boris Johnson from closing Parliament to force Brexit

John Bercow. Photo: House of Commons/PA Images via Getty Images

The U.K.'s Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow said Tuesday that he will not allow Prime Minister Boris Johnson to suspend Parliament in order to force through a no-deal Brexit at the end of October, the Telegraph reports.

"The one thing I feel strongly about is that the House of Commons must have its way. If there is an attempt to circumvent, to bypass or - God forbid! - to close down Parliament; that is anathema to me and I will fight it with every bone in my body to stop that happening. We cannot have a situation in which Parliament is shut down — we are a democratic society."
Go deeperArrowAug 13, 2019