(Bloomberg) — Boris Johnson becomes prime minister Wednesday afternoon, and is preparing to announce his top ministerial team to deliver the U.K.’s exit from the European Union. Brexiteer Priti Patel is expected to be included. Three members of the current Cabinet, including Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, have said they will resign before Johnson takes office.
Key Developments:
Johnson to be appointed premier by Queen Elizabeth II mid-afternoon; he’s expected to give speech outside Downing StreetIncoming prime minister to give Brexiteer Priti Patel a Cabinet role, according to person familiar with the matter; Employment Minister Alok Sharma also expected to be in top teamJustice Secretary David Gauke and International Development Secretary Rory Stewart have said they’ll step down on Wednesday
Johnson to Appoint Cummings as Adviser: BBC (9:40 a.m.)
Dominic Cummings, the director of Vote Leave during the 2016 Brexit referendum, is expected to become senior adviser to incoming Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg said in a tweet, without saying how she obtained the information.
Cummings, played by Benedict Cumberbatch in a recent television drama, is known for his combative style, and was found in contempt of Parliament this year for refusing to answer lawmakers’ questions about targeted online advertising during the 2016 Brexit campaign.
He was previously an adviser to Cabinet minister Michael Gove, who along with Johnson, was the public face of the Vote Leave campaign.
While the appointment — if confirmed — would further bolster the pro-Brexit credentials of Johnson’s administration, it also risks a potential conflict with the Tory party’s anti-EU caucus. Cummings has called the European Research Group “useful idiots” for the Remain campaign to keep the U.K. in the EU.
Duncan Smith: ‘One Last Shot’ at Regaining Trust (9:20 a.m.)
Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said Parliament and especially his party has “one last shot” at regaining the trust of voters by delivering Brexit by Oct. 31, warning that the Brexit Party is ready to take advantage if it doesn’t happen.
“The truth is that Nigel Farage is sitting in the wings with the Brexit Party, and I think they will be rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of the U.K. not leaving on October 31st,” Duncan Smith told the BBC on Wednesday.
It’s a reminder of the difficulty Boris Johnson is likely to face as he tries to unite the Tories to deliver Brexit. Sticking to the Oct. 31 deadline to appease Brexiteers including Duncan Smith will further alienate prospective rebels on the pro-EU wing of the party.
Irish PM Set to Speak to Johnson in Coming Days (9 a.m.)
Irish European Affairs Minister Helen McEntee told RTE radio that Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and his incoming British counterpart, Boris Johnson, are expected to speak by phone in the coming days. McEntee also said a no-deal Brexit would be catastrophic for the U.K.
“I think the intention is for the Taoiseach to speak to him as soon as possible, whether that’s a phone call later today or tomorrow, or the next few days,” she said.
Hancock Rules Out Tory Electoral Pact With Farage (8:30 a.m.)
Cabinet minister Matt Hancock — who is hoping to serve in Boris Johnson’s new administration — ruled out an electoral pact with Nigel Farage, after the Brexit Party leader told Sky News there was a “possibility” of a deal.
“There is no way we are going to have any kind of electoral pact with the Brexit Party, with Nigel Farage,” Hancock told BBC radio. “I don’t want to see an early election, Boris doesn’t want to see an early election.”
The Conservatives currently have a single-figure governing majority that includes the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party, and an election may be the only way to break the parliamentary stalemate over Brexit. In theory, the Brexit Party could agree not to run candidates in key Tory districts, as long as Johnson keeps his promise to leave the EU by Oct. 31.
“Theresa May told us 108 times we were leaving on March 29 and we didn’t, so just because Boris says we’re leaving on the 31st October doesn’t mean we’re going to,” Farage told Sky. “There is a possibility of an electoral pact but we would need to believe them, and at the moment that’s not very easy.”
Earlier:
Johnson Seeks to Build Team to Deliver Brexit as Revolt LoomsBoris Johnson Needs to Get Serious for Britain: EditorialU.K. Plc Urges Johnson to Soften ‘Hugely Worrying’ Brexit StanceBrexit Bulletin: Team Johnson
–With assistance from Dara Doyle and Peter Flanagan.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at [email protected], Stuart Biggs, Andrew Atkinson
For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.