Boris Johnson defeats Jeremy Hunt in vote to become new UK prime minister

The former mayor of London has been elected as the new leader of the Conservative Party in a landslide victory, replacing outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May.

Boris Johnson speaks during the Conservative Leadership announcement. Source: Getty

Boris Johnson will become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom after defeating Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt by more than 40,000 votes in a Conservative Party leadership ballot.

Almost 160,000 party members were eligible to vote for the new Conservative leader, with the result announced on Tuesday evening. Mr Johnson received 92,153 votes, while Mr Hunt garnered 46,656.

The former mayor of London and foreign secretary will officially become the prime minister on Wednesday after Theresa May leads her final question time before tendering her resignation to the Queen at Buckingham Palace.