Is Britain prepared for more wildfires? | The Week UK

A series of wildfires destroyed homes and swathes of land across the UK as the country contended with record-high temperatures.

Scores of major incidents were announced by fire brigades across the country as blazes broke out in the 40C-plus heatwave.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said it was the busiest day for the London Fire Brigade since the Second World War – it received more than 2,600 calls on Tuesday, seven times the usual number. Khan told Sky News that a total of 41 properties had been destroyed in fires across the capital.

Experts have warned that the UK will need to learn how to deal with wildfires, as the number recorded this year is double that of 2021, according to data seen by The Times.

As of Tuesday there had been 420 fires in England and Wales since the start of the year, according to the National Fire Chiefs Council, by far outstripping the 247 in the whole of 2021, and 200 the year before that.

Will the UK face more wildfires?

Conditions were “ripe” for wildfires as temperatures reached a new record high of 40.3C, said ITV.

Speaking to the broadcaster, Dr Thomas Smith, assistant professor in environmental geography at London School of Economics (LSE), said: “The fire risk was extreme, with record-breaking temperatures accompanied by very low relative humidity, this coming on top of a very long spell without rain. This can lead to extreme fire behaviour with fast-spreading fires burning with high intensity (large flames), making it very difficult to fight.”

And as the climate continues to warm, the extreme temperatures we saw earlier this week are likely to become more frequent, increasing the likelihood of fires, with experts warning that the UK could become more susceptible to the kinds of fires seen in Wennington, east London, where houses are close to patches of vegetation.

These types of fires are known as “Wildfire Urban Interface fires”, said Dr Rory Hadden, Rushbrook senior lecturer in fire investigation, University of Edinburgh. “Usually in the UK large wildfires are confined to relatively remote areas such as heath and moorland," Dr Hadden said.

Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 20 July 2022 | The Week UK

Democrats arrested at abortion rally

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was among the Democratic members of the US Congress arrested at an abortion rights protest in Washington DC. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar were also detained near the Supreme Court. The politicians had gathered in front of the US Capitol before marching to the court building, chanting “our bodies, our choice” and “we won’t go back”. Abortion is now banned or under threat of being banned in 60% of US states, after the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe vs Wade ruling, which protected the right to an abortion under the US constitution.

Europe is burning as heat moves east while US and China ...

London (CNN) Hundreds of millions of people around the world were sweltering in extreme heat on Wednesday, as record-breaking heat waves set swathes of Europe's countryside on fire, scorched the US and put dozens of Chinese cities under alert.

Five separate high-pressure weather systems across the northern hemisphere, which are linked by atmospheric waves, have led to unprecedented temperatures on multiple continents. The UK smashed its all-time heat mark on Tuesday, as did several cities in the Texas and Oklahoma, including Wichita Falls, which reached a broiling 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 degrees Celsius) on Tuesday.

Residents of Alhaurín el Grande, Spain, were evacuated due to a fire in the Sierra de Mijas mountain range on July 15.

Residents of Alhaurín el Grande, Spain, were evacuated due to a fire in the Sierra de Mijas mountain range on July 15.

Residents watch as a column of smoke emerges from a fire in A Pobra do Brollón, Spain, on July 17.

Residents watch as a column of smoke emerges from a fire in A Pobra do Brollón, Spain, on July 17.

Firefighters set a backfire to a plot of land to prevent a wildfire from spreading further in Louchats, France, on July 17.

Firefighters set a backfire to a plot of land to prevent a wildfire from spreading further in Louchats, France, on July 17.

People look at plumes of smoke caused by a wildfire in Malaga, Spain, on July 15.

People look at plumes of smoke caused by a wildfire in Malaga, Spain, on July 15.

People rest after being evacuated from a campsite in western France on July 13.

People rest after being evacuated from a campsite in western France on July 13.

A firefighter looks on during firefighting operations in Espite, Portugal, on July 13.

A firefighter looks on during firefighting operations in Espite, Portugal, on July 13.

A cloud of smoke rises from the Dune of Pilat, in the Arcachon basin of southwest France, on July 13.

A cloud of smoke rises from the Dune of Pilat, in the Arcachon basin of southwest France, on July 13.

A local resident tries to stop flames from reaching houses in Figueiras, Portugal, on July 12.

A local resident tries to stop flames from reaching houses in Figueiras, Portugal, on July 12.

Firefighters attempt to control a fire in the French communes of Landiras and Guillos on July 13.

Firefighters attempt to control a fire in the French communes of Landiras and Guillos on July 13.

Burnt cars and trees are seen at a campsite in southwest France on July 19.

Burnt cars and trees are seen at a campsite in southwest France on July 19.

An aerial view shows the rubble and destruction in a residential area following a large blaze the previous day, in Wennington, Greater London, on July 20.

An aerial view shows the rubble and destruction in a residential area following a large blaze the previous day, in Wennington, Greater London, on July 20.

An aerial view shows burnt olive trees and fields in Megara, west of Athens, on July 20.

An aerial view shows burnt olive trees and fields in Megara, west of Athens, on July 20.

A firefighter battles a blaze in the suburb of Pallini, east of Athens, Greece, on July 20.

A firefighter battles a blaze in the suburb of Pallini, east of Athens, Greece, on July 20.

As Europe's heat wave moves eastwards, wildfires have forced tens of thousands of people from their homes, blanketing parts of Italy, Greece and France in smoke. Germany recorded its hottest day of the year as temperatures reached 104.5 F (40.3C) at a measuring station in Bad Mergentheim-Neunkirchen, in the center of the country, while Hungary and Italy have been hit with high temperatures of around 100 F (nearly 38C) in places.

The European Forest Fire Information System put 19 European countries on "extreme danger" alerts for wildfires on Wednesday, across an expanse stretching from Portugal and Spain in the southwest to Albania and Turkey in the southeast.

There was some respite in the UK, where temperatures dipped from an all-time high of 40.3 C (104.5 F) on Tuesday back into the 20s. But some residential areas around London were left in ruins after fires broke out across parts of the capital, stretching the fire service to its limits.

"Yesterday was the busiest day for the fire service in London since the Second World War," London's mayor Sadiq Khan told Sky News on Wednesday, as residents of the capital watched their homes destroyed in heat-triggered blazes they never thought possible.

A resident of Wennington, a London suburb affected by Tuesday's fires, told CNN that the gardens on his street were "like a tinder box" in the days leading up to the fire. Stock lost his home, eight chickens and two beehives when the fire broke out.

"I didn't sleep last night. I was in the hotel room thinking how bad it could have gone. I just thank god that everyone got out alive," he said. "We've lost everything. But when we get back, we can clear the site, put some fences up, get a couple of mobile homes and we'll start again."

London had no available fire engines at one point in the afternoon amid unprecedented demand, a senior fireman with the London Fire Brigade's special rescue team told CNN.

In the United States, local leaders are urging caution and issuing health warnings as a heat wave that shows no sign of slowing before the weekend continues to bake the south-central regions of the country.

And in China, millions of densely-populated cities are responding to extreme heat. According to the China Meteorological Administration, at least 31 Chinese cities issued the second-highest orange alert warning, with temperatures expected to go up to 37 degrees Celsius (98 degrees Fahrenheit) in the next 24 hours.

Europe burns in record heat

Greece: On the outskirts of the Greek capital, Athens, firefighters have been tackling vast blazes that are being whipped up by wind. At least 600 people have been evacuated, including from a children's hospital, authorities said. One person has died and 30 have been transferred to hospitals in the capital's Attica region, the Greek Fire Service said on Wednesday.

"Our top priority remains the safeguarding of human lives. But also that of vital public infrastructure as well as citizens' properties," spokesperson Ioannis Artopoios said during an earlier televised briefing.

A firefighter tries to extinguish a blaze in Pallini, near Athens, Greece on July 20.

Huge clouds of smoke remain visible in the city on Wednesday, despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters. Romanian fire crews have been drafted in to assist the operation.

Italy: Blazes are also being tackled in parts of Italy. Wildfires in Tuscany caused gas tanks to explode and forced evacuations overnight, Blazes are also being tackled in parts of Italy. Wildfires in Tuscany caused gas tanks to explode and forced evacuations overnight, according to the regional President Eugenio Giani.

Germany: In Alsdorf, western Germany, three residents and two firefighters were injured in a blaze on Tuesday, and much of the country is primed for more fires as temperatures rise on Wednesday.

France: In France, aircraft continued to dump water over burning landscapes. Fires have been raging there for a week now, though they advanced "very little" on Tuesday night in the Gironde region, according to local authorities. Smoke swirled over the Brennilis nuclear power plant in Brittany on Wednesday morning.

Just as UK Prime Minister was criticized for a lack of preparedness for the heat wave, France's Emmanuel Macron too is coming under pressure to respond more quickly to the heat and fires, which have already burned 25 times more land in France than in the same period last year, government spokesperson Olivier Veran told journalists on Wednesday.

Firefighters spray water on a wildfire in the Monts d'Arree, in Brittany, north-western France.

On Tuesday, the president of the fire-stricken Gironde region called for additional resources, including firefighting aircraft to be diverted there.

A campsite owner told CNN affiliate BFMTV on Tuesday that "we have demands" for Macron, who will be making a visit to the ravaged southwest on Wednesday.

"We hope that he will be able to very quickly order the public services to help us, to support us in the administrative steps to put the camp site in working order as soon as possible," said Stephane Carella, co-owner of Pyla Camping whose site was destroyed by fires.

France has been tackling wildfires for a week.

"Everything has gone up in smoke," he said, with some 90% of his property affected by the fire. Carella described the remainders of the site as "apocalyptic."

High temperatures rip through US

The baking weather in the US has so far been centered on parts of the south, and is raising particular concern about the welfare of elderly, vulnerable and homeless people.

In Texas, 14 prisons have no air conditioning and 55 have only partially-working systems, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) told CNN in an email. Texas has had at least four heat waves this season, a hot streak that started impacting the state before the official start of summer. Since May 1, more than half their days have come with some level of heat alert.

As temperatures in neighboring Arizona reached triple digits on Tuesday afternoon, around 7,000 people lost power due to strong storms, a spokesperson for the Arizona Public Service Company said.

Much of the east coast will see temperatures in the 90s this week.

In some areas, such as Miami-Dade County and Phoenix, local governments have hired chief heat officers to help residents combat the heat.

Much of the country's north, and parts of Canada, are preparing for temperatures to soar too. Philadelphia declared a "heat caution" starting noon Tuesday and extending to until 8 p.m. ET Thursday, the city said in an email to CNN. It also declared a "code red" alert for homeless people in the area.

The Canadian government issued heat and severe thunderstorm advisories in at least four provinces on Tuesday.


Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are final candidates in race to succeed ...

London (CNN) Boris Johnson will be succeeded as prime minister of the United Kingdom by either Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss after the Conservative Party leadership race was on Wednesday narrowed down to the final two candidates.

Johnson resigned as party leader earlier this month after a series of scandals led to dozens of ministerial resignations. Ten Conservatives stood in the contest to replace him, and over five rounds of voting, members of parliament whittled those down to two.

Sunak won 137 votes and Truss got 113 votes in the final round, while Penny Mordaunt with 105 votes lost out.

Both of the final two candidates took to Twitter to comment on the result.

"Grateful that my colleagues have put their trust in me today. I will work night and day to deliver our message around the country," tweeted Sunak.

For her part, Truss tweeted: "Thank you for putting your trust in me. I'm ready to hit the ground running from day one."

Now about 160,000 rank-and-file members of the party will have their say, and in September the winner -- and next prime minister -- will be announced.

Both candidates who made it to the final two in the Conservative party leadership contest served in Johnson's government, and could therefore be marred by the scandals that brought Johnson down.

The first was Johnson whipping his members of parliament to protect a political ally found to have breached lobbying rules, and ended with revelations that Johnson appointed as his deputy chief whip Chris Pincher, a man who'd been accused of sexual assault multiple times.

The best known scandal was "Partygate" in which Johnson and several political allies -- including Sunak -- were fined by police for breaching the government's own Covid-19 restrictions. This made Johnson the first premier in history to be found guilty of having broken the law in office.

The task facing the final two candidates is enormous enough, with the UK suffering a cost-of-living crisis and the Conservative Party increasingly unpopular after 12 years in power. And as soon as the new leader takes over, the opposition Labour Party will be only too willing to remind whoever succeeds Johnson that they were part of that government.

On Wednesday, Johnson attended his final Prime Minister's Questions session in the House of Commons. He boasted about his government's response to the pandemic and his support of Ukraine in its defense against Russia.

"We've helped, I've helped, get this country through a pandemic and help save another country from barbarism. And frankly, that's enough to be going on with. Mission largely accomplished," Johnson said. "I want to thank everybody here and hasta la vista, baby."

JUST WATCHED 'Hasta la vista, baby': Boris Johnson bows out to lawmakers' applause Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH 'Hasta la vista, baby': Boris Johnson bows out to lawmakers' applause 01:38

The final round of the leadership race took place amid a record-breaking heatwave, which sparked wildfires and highlighted the UK's under-preparedness for the climate emergency as well as the need for urgent measures to curb carbon emissions.

Here is what you need to know about the two final candidates:

Sunak served as the UK's finance minister from 2020-2022.

Rishi Sunak

Sunak has been considered the frontrunner for a long time. He served as Johnson's Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister) from 2020 to 2022, and gained a largely positive public profile after introducing popular measures during the coronavirus pandemic, such as the furlough scheme and discounts on eating in restaurants.

He has recently come under pressure over questions regarding the tax status of his wife, Akshata Murthy, a multi-millionaire who is domiciled in India.

Some Conservatives were worried that Sunak found this level of scrutiny hard, and are concerned he would buckle under the pressure of being prime minister.

Despite this, he has consistently led the pack among Conservative MPs in the first rounds of voting.

Polling of Conservative members can be difficult, especially at such tumultuous times, but in those that have taken place Sunak has consistently come second to Truss among party members.

Even if he did make it to power, he would have to overcome criticism from political enemies of all stripes. Opposition leaders would be quick to remind Sunak that he was fined at the same Partygate event as Johnson.

They will also ask why Sunak remained loyal to Johnson for so long, only resigning after the scandal involving Johnson's chief whip, Chris Pincher.

Things get worse when you factor in Johnson loyalists, who believe that Sunak's resignation was the moment Johnson's premiership began to crumble.

So, while Sunak might be the frontrunner, he will be surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Truss is currently UK foreign secretary.

Liz Truss

Truss also has a Johnson association problem. She is still serving as Johnson's foreign secretary and will do so until he finally leaves office in September. She has stood by her leader throughout all of his scandals, justifying that fact she didn't resign over the Pincher scandal because she was coordinating the UK's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

That explanation might wash with some, however Truss is also largely thought of by Conservatives as the Johnson continuation candidate. Among her chief endorsers are some of Johnson's most loyal allies, which could make dissociating herself from the current PM tricky.

It will also be tricky to distance herself from Johnson's policies. Truss, who voted for the UK to remain in the European Union, has become an arch-Brexiteer since the 2016 referendum.

Since Johnson has taken office, she's been his trade secretary and his foreign secretary. As the former, she has tub-thumped as loudly as Johnson over each and every trade deal signed, even ones that were simply rollover deals from the UK's time in the EU.

She has also been an ardent supporter of Johnson's plan to rewrite a controversial part of the Brexit deal, the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Truss has spent much of her time in high office building a power base and is very popular among both MPs and the Conservative grassroots.

Sunak and Truss will now spend the summer campaigning to Conservative grassroot members before the victor is announced by the party on September 5.

After that, Johnson will resign to the Queen, whom his successor will then visit and be invited to form a government.

Conservative leadership race: Who might replace Boris Johnson as ...

Any candidates who run for the leadership will go through rounds of voting by Conservative lawmakers until only two remain -- at which point Conservative Party members nationwide will vote. The winner will be the new party leader -- and prime minister.

Here's a look at the possible contenders.

Show More Show Less

Rishi Sunak

Britain's former Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

The former chancellor formally announced he was standing to succeed Johnson in a campaign video on Friday, which began with the story of his Indian parents, who both emigrated to the UK from East Africa. "It was Britain, our country, that gave them and millions like them the chance of a better future," he said. "I want to lead this country in the right direction."

Sunak was Johnson's presumed successor for several months after he won praise for overseeing Britain's initial financial response to the Covid-19 pandemic. But he has suffered several of his own scandals while in government.

His stock sank earlier this year after revelations that he broke Covid regulations to attend the prime minister's birthday party on June 19, 2020, for which he later apologized "unreservedly."

His financial and legal affairs came under scrutiny this spring following reports his wife had non-domicile status in the UK -- meaning she was not liable to pay tax on overseas income -- and that he held a US green card while serving as minister.

the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades. Sunak has struggled to keep down spiraling inflation and has been criticized by opposition parties for what they call a slow and inadequate series of financial measures. Among the economic woes facing Britons after Sunak's time as the UK's chief financial minister: real wages dropping to their lowest levels in more than 21 years and inflation hitting a 40-year high of His popularity has also taken a beating in recent weeks as Britain has sufferedthe worst cost-of-living crisis in decades. Sunak has struggled to keep down spiraling inflation and has been criticized by opposition parties for what they call a slow and inadequate series of financial measures. Among the economic woes facing Britons after Sunak's time as the UK's chief financial minister: real wages dropping to their lowest levels in more than 21 years and inflation hitting a 40-year high of 9.1% in May

But he is still among the bookmakers' odds-on favorites to take Johnson's job.

Sajid Javid

Former Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

The former health secretary, whose resignation set off a wave of departures from Johnson's government, officially announced his candidacy on Sunday.

"Whether it's the cost of living or it's low levels of growth, for me, that's our most immediate challenge... You need someone with an economic plan from day one," he said, adding that his economic plan would have two prongs: short-term measures to help people meet cost-of-living challenges and a longer-term plan for tax reform.

Posting on Twitter on Sunday, Javid said: "The next Prime Minister needs integrity, experience, and a tax-cutting plan for economic growth. That's why I'm standing."

The statement echoed Javid's resignation speech in the House of Commons in which he said that something was "fundamentally wrong" with government.

Those who support Javid's candidacy hope that he will be credited for triggering Johnson's ultimate ouster, having been the first cabinet minister to resign -- though Sunak followed him minutes later.

The MP has twice run for party leadership in the past -- in 2016, after the Brexit referendum, and in 2019, when Johnson was ultimately elected. He served as chancellor from 2019 to 2020.

His family immigrated from Pakistan to the UK in the 1960s, and his father worked as a bus driver.

Liz Truss

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

The foreign secretary made her leadership ambitions known in The Telegraph on Sunday. At the heart of her leadership bid is a pledge to cut taxes "from day one," to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.

Liz Truss became the chief negotiator with the European Union on the UK's Brexit deal in December 2021 and has held multiple cabinet positions. Since voting Remain in 2016, she has since become one of the loudest Euroskeptic voices in the government, which many have chalked up to her desire for the top job.

She has a formidable and dedicated team around her -- some of whom previously worked in Number 10 -- which has been producing slick videos and photos of her looking thoroughly statesmanlike. She has apparently attempted to channel former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, wearing a headscarf while driving a tank, and her role in fronting the response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine has also heightened her public profile.

In her comment piece in The Telegraph, she highlighted her foreign policy expertise, writing: "As Foreign Secretary, I have helped to lead the international response to Putin's war in Ukraine and delivered a tough sanctions package that has led the world, by imposing real pain on Putin and the Kremlin."

Truss is popular among Conservative members, who would pick the eventual winner of a contest. But Johnson's downfall could simultaneously tarnish anyone in his cabinet, meaning Conservative voters could turn to a backbencher to take the mantle.

Penny Mordaunt

Britain's Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt.

The trade minister, one of the bookmakers' favorites to replace Johnson, announced her bid for the leadership on Sunday. A poll of party members published July 4 by website Conservative Home put her as the second favorite choice, behind the current defense secretary Ben Wallace, who has ruled himself out of the race.

Penny Mordaunt first entered parliament in 2010 and later joined the cabinet under Theresa May, serving as international development and defense secretary.

After last month's confidence vote, Mordaunt declined to comment on whether she backed Johnson, raising eyebrows among Westminster observers when she said: "I didn't choose this prime minister."

Announcing her interest in the top job, she said the party "leadership needs to become a little less about the leader and a lot more about the ship."

Mordaunt, who in 2019 became the first woman to serve as defense minister, invoked Thatcher in her statement, saying the former Conservative leader "was remarkable for not just what she did but the speed she did it."

"She had a vision and a plan. So do I," she added.

Tom Tugendhat

Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat.

A former British military officer who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tugendhat has been one of Johnson's most robust critics and has called for the Conservative Party to drop its focus on "divisive politics."

Launching his leadership bid on Thursday in The Telegraph newspaper, Tugendhat wrote : "I have served before -- in the military, and now in Parliament. Now I hope to answer the call once again as prime minister. It's time for a clean start. It's time for renewal."

He outlined his vision for tackling the cost of living crisis, reducing taxes and investing in neglected regions of the UK.

Despite not having any cabinet or shadow cabinet experience, Tugendhat has impressed colleagues with his oratory skills and seriousness, most notably when he spoke about the fall of Afghanistan. He entered parliament in 2015 after serving in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Some key centrist Conservatives have already been throwing their support behind the relative wildcard, but some worry that his experience is too focused on foreign affairs.

Nadhim Zahawi

Britain's newly appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi.

Less than two days after he was appointed by Johnson to the role of chancellor, replacing Sunak, Nadhim Zahawi publicly called on the prime minister to resign and later launched his bid to replace him.

Until his promotion, Zahawi, who joined the cabinet less than a year ago, was considered an unlikely choice as the next leader of the Conservative Party. But his rise under Johnson has been rapid, making his mark with early success as vaccines minister amid the coronavirus pandemic and then as education secretary.

In his pitch for leadership, previewed in The Spectator magazine, he promised to lower taxes for individuals, families and business, boost defense spending, and continue with education reforms he started in his previous role.

Despite voting to leave the European Union in 2016, Zahawi is widely admired among the moderates in the party. Crucially, as one Conservative source put it, "he's not been in government long enough to have any obvious defects and, despite supporting Boris even after the confidence vote, is not too tainted by association."

Zahawi was born in Iraq to Kurdish parents and came to the UK as a child, when his family fled Saddam Hussein's regime. He is believed to be one of the richest politicians in the House of Commons, and helped found the polling company YouGov.

"If a young boy who came here aged 11 without a word of English, can serve at the highest levels of Her Majesty's Government and run to be the next Prime Minister, anything is possible," Zahawi is set to say in a speech Monday, an excerpt of which was published by The Spectator.

Jeremy Hunt

Conservative MP Jeremy Hunt.

A former health and foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt lost the 2019 leadership vote to Johnson. He has since styled himself as an antidote to Johnson and is without question the highest profile contender on the moderate, ex-Remain side of the party.

Hunt announced his bid to become the next Conservative leader in an interview with British newspaper The Sunday Telegraph, pitching himself as "the only major candidate who has not served in Boris Johnson's government."

In a statement on Twitter ahead of the confidence vote in June, Hunt said: "Anyone who believes our country is stronger, fairer & more prosperous when led by Conservatives should reflect that the consequence of not changing will be to hand the country to others who do not share those values. Today's decision is change or lose. I will be voting for change."

Tellingly, Hunt's statement focused mainly on the Conservatives' chances of electoral success under Johnson, rather than his policies or the partygate scandal -- a decision that could be read as a pitch to the Conservative MPs and members who would decide a leadership election. However, he comes with baggage, and sources from the opposition Labour Party have told CNN they are already writing attack lines.

"It can't be Jeremy. Labour can say he was running healthcare for six years and failed to prepare for a pandemic. They can say when he was culture secretary he chummed up to the Murdochs during the phone hacking scandal. He will get crushed," a senior Conservative source told CNN.

Grant Shapps

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

The transport secretary launched his bid for prime minister this weekend, describing himself as a "problem solver, with a proven record of delivery" in a post on Twitter.

Outlining his vision for the UK in an interview with The Sunday Times newspaper, Grant Shapps said that within his first 100 days in office he would produce an emergency budget to lower tax for "the most vulnerable" and give state support to firms with high levels of energy consumption.

"We have had two-and-a-half years of tactical government by an often distracted centre. This must end. We must be a strategic government, sober in its analysis, and not chasing the next headline," the paper quoted Shapps as saying.

The MP for Welwyn Hatfield was elected in 2005 and has held several ministerial posts. He is also a former co-chair of the Conservative party.

Kemi Badenoch

Conservative MP Kemi Badenoch.

The former equalities minister launched her leadership bid in an op-ed published by the Times of London newspaper, saying she wants a "strong but limited government focused on the essentials."

Kemi Badenoch resigned from the government on Wednesday citing "issues" that had "come to light" and the way they had been handled.

"I'm putting myself forward in this leadership election because I want to tell the truth. It's the truth that will set us free," she wrote Saturday. Badenoch, who voted in favor of Brexit in 2016, added she would run on a "smart and nimble centre-right vision."

Suella Braverman

Attorney General Suella Braverman.

Last week, the attorney general called for Johnson to quit and said that she would join a leadership race to replace him, telling ITV "it would be the greatest honor."

Launching her bid a few days later, Suella Braverman wrote in The Daily Telegraph : "I saw Brexit as the most important political decision of my life. My views are not triangulated or calibrated. They are as much a part of me as my DNA. I now realise that I cannot rely on others to take Conservatism forward."

Braverman was elected as MP for Fareham in 2015.

Rehman Chishti

Conservative MP Rehman Chishti.

Among the biggest outsiders in the race, the newly appointed Foreign Office minister threw his hat into the ring on Sunday.

Born in Pakistan, Rehman Chishti moved to the UK at the age of six, learning English at school in Gillingham, Kent, the area of southeastern England that he has represented as an MP since 2010. He went on to become the first in his family to go to university and received his law degree.

Britain's next prime minister will be a woman

Jane Onyanga-Omara

USA TODAY

LONDON — Britain's next prime minister almost certainly will be a woman.

That became clear Thursday when members of the ruling Conservative Party chose Home Secretary Theresa May and Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom as the final two candidates to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron, who announced his resignation after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.

The winner would become the U.K.'s first female prime minister since Margaret Thatcher, known as the "Iron Lady," governed from 1979 to 1990.

The new leader will be chosen by 150,000 Conservative Party members on Sept. 9, after the women campaign around the country, and will also become prime minister unless a new parliamentary election is called first.

Justice Secretary Michael Gove was eliminated in Thursday's vote by Conservative members of Parliament. Gove entered the race last week after unexpectedly withdrawing his support from the early favorite to be prime minister, former London mayor Boris Johnson.

Cameron had spearheaded the losing campaign to remain in the EU, and Johnson was the leader of the Brexit — British exit — camp.

May, 59, who supported staying in the EU, emerged as the favorite for leader in the first round of voting Tuesday by the party's lawmakers.

On Thursday, May won 199 votes, Leadsom 84 and Gove 46.

Gove congratulated May and Leadsom, describing them as “formidable politicians.”

The contentious Brexit referendum, which won 52% to 48% on June 23, continues to reverberate in the U.K. and Europe.

Still to be decided is when Britain formally starts the prolonged process for exiting the bloc, which will be reduced to 27 member countries. That will lead to difficult negotiations on how Britain can maintain favorable trade status and business relationships, and what price the EU will demand in return.

In the wake of the referendum, there has been turmoil in financial markets and the business community. The pound has plummeted in value, some plans for investment in Britain have been put on hold, international firms are weighing moving operations out of Britain, and France and other European nations are trying to move the continent's financial capital from London to Paris or another major city.

“We need strong, proven leadership to negotiate the best deal for Britain as we leave the European Union, to unite our party and our country, and to make Britain a country that works not for a privileged few but for every one of us, " May said following Thursday's party vote.

May has drawn criticism for failing to guarantee that citizens of EU countries living in Britain will be able to remain in the country after Brexit.

May was appointed Home secretary in 2010, after the Conservative Party took control of the government. She is in charge of internal affairs of England and Wales and immigration, national security and citizenship for the U.K. May is the longest-serving official in this post in more than 50 years.

Leadsom, 53, who backed the “leave” campaign in the referendum, entered Parliament in 2010 after a career in financial services. She has less political experience than May and has faced allegations from rivals that she exaggerated her experience in the financial sector.

Her plain-spoken style and opposition to the EU made her popular with the party’s grass-roots members, who are older and more Euro-skeptic.

“I will not use people’s lives as bargaining chips in some negotiation,” Leadsom told supporters Thursday. “I say to all who are legally here that you will be welcome to stay.”

Pound falls sharply on renewed Brexit fears

Brexit backer Farage steps down as UKIP leader

Australia election results: Labor leader Anthony Albanese will be the ...

Brisbane, Australia (CNN) Australian voters have delivered a sharp rebuke to the center-right government, ending nine years of conservative rule, in favor of the center-left opposition that promised stronger action on climate change.

Australian Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese claimed victory Saturday, though it was unclear as counting continued if his party would have the 76 seats required to form a majority.

Early counting showed a strong swing towards Greens candidates and Independents who demanded emissions cuts far above the commitments made by the ruling conservative coalition.

Amanda McKenzie, CEO of the research group the Climate Council, declared climate action the winner of the vote.

"Millions of Australians have put climate first. Now, it's time for a radical reset on how this great nation of ours acts upon the climate challenge," she said in a statement.

Other than climate, this election focused on the character of the leaders. Incumbent Scott Morrison. was deeply unpopular with voters and seemed to acknowledge as much when he admitted during the last week of the campaign that he had been a "bit of a bulldozer." He was referring to making hard decisions during the pandemic and severing a submarine deal with France, but it reflected claims about his leadership style as being more authoritarian than collaborative.

Speaking to his supporters late Saturday night, Morrison said he had called Albanese and congratulated him on his election victory. "I've always believed in Australians and their judgment, and I've always been prepared to accept their verdict," he said.

Just before midnight, Albanese walked out to to cheers from his supporters and said he would seek to unite the nation. "I will work every day to bring Australians together. And I will lead a government worthy of the people of Australia."

He added: "I can promise all Australians this no matter how you voted today, the government I lead will respect every one of you every day."

Scott Morrison, flanked by his wife and daughters as he concede defeat to Labor leader Anthony Albanese.

What Albanese will do as Prime Minister?

One of Albanese's first priorities as Prime Minister will be to rebuild relations with foreign leaders he says Morrison has neglected in recent years. They include Pacific Island leaders, including the Solomon Islands whose leader signed a security pact with Beijing, stoking fears that China plans to build its first military base in the Pacific.

On Tuesday, Albanese intends to travel Tokyo with Foreign Minister Penny Wong for talks with Quad members from the United States, India and Japan, where they'll discuss priorities to safeguard free passage in the Indo-Pacific.

The climate crisis was one of the defining issues of the election, as one of the few points of difference between the coalition and Labor, and a key concern of voters, according to polls.

Marija Taflaga, lecturer in politics and international relations at the Australian National University, said the swing towards the Greens was remarkable. "I think everyone has been taken by surprise by these results...I think it will mean there will be greater and faster action on climate change more broadly."

Labor has promised to cut emissions by 43% by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2050, partly by strengthening the mechanism used to pressure companies to make cuts.

But research institute Climate Analytics says Labor's plans aren't ambitious enough to keep global temperature rise within 1.5 degrees Celsius, as outlined in the Paris Agreement.

Labor's policies are more consistent with a rise of 2 degrees Celsius, the institute said, marginally better than the coalition's plan.

To speed up the transition to renewable energy, Labor plans to modernize Australia's energy grid and roll out solar banks and community batteries. But despite its net zero commitment, Labor says it'll approve new coal projects if they're environmentally and economically viable.

In inner-city seats, results show voters threw their support behind Independents, mostly highly-educated female candidates standing on a platform of higher cuts to greenhouse emissions and integrity in government. They targeted traditionally safe Liberal seats, challenging voters to take a stand on decades of government inaction.

Albanese is supporting a rise in the minimum wage of 5.1%, though he doesn't have the power to impose it, only leeway to submit a recommendation to the Fair Work Commission that the minimum wage keeps pace with inflation.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny cast their votes at a polling booth in Sydney on Saturday.

A modest upbringing to PM

Albanese often refers to his background as the son of a single mother to demonstrate his commitment to making life better for struggling Australians.

His mother, Maryanne, suffered rheumatoid arthritis and lived on disability benefits while she raised him alone in council housing in the 1960s.

"It gave me a determination each and every day to help the people like I was growing up to have a better life. And I think that's what Australians want," he told the National Press Club in January.

Albanese repeatedly credited his mother for her strength during his campaign, most recently on Friday when he paid tribute to a "incredible woman."

"She'd be proud as punch because she made the courageous decision in 1963 to keep a child that she had out of wedlock," he said.

Albanese's father was a steward on a cruise ship, and the new Australian Prime Minister was born of a brief liaison that was scandalous at the time for a single Catholic woman.

So she told him that his father had died to spare him the truth, he said.

"That was a tough decision," he said. "It says something about the pressure that was placed on women and pressures that are still placed on women when faced with difficult circumstances. The fact that that young kid is now running for Prime Minister says a lot about her and her courage, but it also says a lot about this country."

Albanese may have won over Australians, but one of his challenges as Prime Minister will be to unite the factions of his party, said Zareh Ghazarian, a lecturer in politics at Monash University.

"He's presented himself as someone who's going to be a level-headed leader. The challenge that he will have is getting on top of and keeping on top of the Labor party caucus," he said.

Albanese served as a minister in the previous Labor government under prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, before taking over as Labor leader after the party's most recent election loss in 2019.

That loss knocked the wind out of Labor and they returned to this election campaign with more modest promises to avoid scaring off voters worried about radical change.

Paul Williams, a political scientist with Griffith University, said Albanese lacked experience in major portfolios but predicted he would "grow into the job."

"I think it will be a steep learning curve for Albanese because he hasn't had a very senior portfolio like treasurer or foreign affairs minister. And he's going to be thrown into the mix of the Quad meeting next week. So it's going to be baptism by fire," he said.

Albanese said he hoped his win would show young Australians that "the doors of opportunity are open to us all."

"Every parent wants more for the next generation than they had. My mother dreamt of a better life for me. And I hope that my journey in life inspires Australians to reach for the stars."

UK Prime Minister race down to the final four, and Boris Johnson is ...

Jill Lawless

Associated Press

LONDON – The race to become Britain's next prime minister is down to the final four on Wednesday, as Boris Johnson stretched his lead among Conservative lawmakers and upstart Rory Stewart was eliminated from the contest.

Johnson, a former London mayor and U.K. foreign secretary, won 143 of 313 votes cast in a third-round ballot of Conservative lawmakers. Many fellow Brexit supporters in Parliament have rallied behind his insistence that Britain must leave the European Union as scheduled on Oct. 31.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Environment Secretary Michael Gove and Home Secretary Sajid Javid trailed well behind, while Stewart came last and was dropped from the race.

More votes on Thursday will winnow the field down to two. The final pair of candidates with the most votes will appear on a runoff ballot mailed to about 160,000 party members across the country.

With Johnson all but guaranteed to be one of the two finalists, Hunt, Gove and Javid are battling for the second spot in the runoff.

The winner, expected to be announced in late July, will replace Theresa May as party leader and prime minister. May stepped down as Conservative leader earlier this month after failing to secure Parliament's approval for her Brexit deal.

Wednesday's vote ended the gravity-defying campaign of Stewart, who began as a longshot but sent an electric charge through the race as the "anti-Boris" candidate. He got just 27 votes, fewer than in the second round.

A former diplomat who once walked across Afghanistan and was a deputy provincial governor in Iraq after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the 46-year-old lawmaker called out his rivals for what he saw as their fantasies and empty promises, and called for compromise on Brexit.

His quirky campaign, which saw him crisscross Britain talking and listening to voters, struck a chord with the public — though was less of a hit with his Conservative colleagues in Parliament.

After the result, Stewart said it had been "the most incredibly wonderful, exciting campaign."

He said that although he had not managed to persuade his colleagues, the public reaction proved that "pragmatism" and "the center ground" were alive and kicking in politics.

Hunt, who got 54 votes, and Gove with 51 are tussling for second place and the slot of Johnsons' runoff opponent. Javid straggled in fourth place, with 38 votes.

Many in the party doubt that anyone can beat Johnson, a quick-witted, Latin-spouting extrovert admired for his ability to connect with voters, but mistrusted for his erratic performance, and record of inaccurate and sometimes offensive comments.

Hunt is considered an experienced and competent minister, but unexciting. Javid, the son of Pakistani immigrants, says he offers a common-man alternative to his private school-educated rivals like Johnson and Hunt, although he was a highly paid investment banker before entering politics.

Gove is the sharpest performer and could come out best in head-to-head debates with Johnson, his longstanding frenemy.

Like Johnson, Gove helped lead the campaign to leave the European Union, but scuttled his friend's bid to become prime minister in 2016 when he unexpectedly withdrew his support and decided to run for the job himself. The move left him with a lingering taint of treachery in the eyes of some Conservatives.

All the candidates to replace May have vowed to succeed where she failed and lead the country out of the EU. They differ widely on how to do that — and critics say none of their plans is realistic.

The EU says it won't reopen the Brexit agreement it struck with May's government, which has been rejected three times by Britain's Parliament. Many economists and businesses warn that leaving without a deal on divorce terms and future relations would cause economic turmoil as tariffs and other disruptions are imposed on trade between Britain and the EU.

Johnson has won backing from the party's die-hard Brexiteers by insisting the U.K. must leave the bloc on the rescheduled date of Oct. 31, with or without a divorce deal to smooth the way.

The U.K.'s withdrawal, originally set for March 29, has been pushed back twice amid political deadlock in London. Johnson said during a TV debate on Tuesday there would be a "catastrophic loss of confidence in politics" if Brexit was delayed any further.

Javid, like Johnson, says he would try to leave the EU without an agreement rather than delay Brexit beyond Oct. 31. Gove and Hunt both say they would seek another postponement if needed to secure a deal, but only for a short time.

Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss face runoff to become UK's next leader

Jill Lawless

Associated Press

LONDON — Britain's Conservative Party chose former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss — a fiscal moderate and a low-tax crusader — as the two finalists in an election to replace departing Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The result came on the day the divisive, unrepentant Johnson ended his final appearance in Parliament as prime minister with the words "Hasta la vista, baby."

Sunak and Truss came first and second respectively in a secret vote by Conservative lawmakers. Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt came in third and was eliminated.

The race, which has already produced bitter Conservative infighting, pits Sunak, who steered Britain's economy through the pandemic before quitting Johnson's government this month, against Truss, who has led the U.K.'s response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The two contenders will spend the next few weeks campaigning for the votes of about 180,000 Conservative Party members around the country, who will vote by postal or online ballot. The winner of the party leadership vote will be announced Sept. 5 and will automatically become Britain's next prime minister.

Sunak won all four rounds of elimination votes by lawmakers, but is less popular with the party's grassroots, partly because of his previous job as Britain's chief taxman.

Truss, who has taken a tough line against Russian President Vladimir Putin — and with the European Union — is a favorite of the Conservatives' right-wing.

Truss said if she becomes prime minister, "I would hit the ground running from day one, unite the party and govern in line with Conservative values."

Sunak's campaign said, "the choice for members is very simple: who is the best person to beat Labour at the next election? The evidence shows that's Rishi."

The winner of the Tory contest will not have to face Britain's general electorate until 2024, unless they choose to call an early general election.

The campaign has already exposed deep divisions in the Conservative Party at the end of Johnson's scandal-tarnished three-year reign. Truss has branded Sunak a "socialist" for raising taxes in response to the economic damage wrought by the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Sunak has hit back, saying that rivals including Truss were peddling economic "fairy tales" to British voters as the country faces soaring inflation and economic turbulence.

Johnson allies have been accused of lobbying against Sunak, whose resignation helped bring the prime minister down, and in favor of Truss, who remained loyal. That impression was cemented Wednesday when Johnson said his advice to his successor would be not always to listen to the Treasury.

All the contenders —- there were 11 to start — sought to distance themselves from Johnson, whose term in office began boldly in 2019 with a vow to "get Brexit done" and a resounding election victory, but is now ending in disgrace.

Johnson quit July 7 after months of ethics scandals but remains caretaker leader until the party elects his successor.

On Wednesday, he faced derisive opposition politicians and weary Conservatives at his last Prime Minister's Questions session in the House of Commons, which adjourns for the summer on Thursday.

It was a downbeat departure, with supportive Conservative lawmakers lobbing praise and opposition politicians offering variations on "good riddance."

Johnson extolled what he called his accomplishments — leading Britain out of the European Union and through COVID-19, and supporting Ukraine against Russia's invasion — and declared: "Mission largely accomplished, for now," before departing with Arnold Schwarzenegger's "hasta la vista" catchphrase from "Terminator 2."

Opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said: "I will miss the delusion."

Johnson clung to office through months of scandals over his finances and his judgment, refusing to resign when he was fined by police over government parties that broke COVID-19 lockdown rules. He finally quit after one scandal too many — appointing a politician accused of sexual misconduct — drove his ministers to resign en masse.

Despite remaining prime minister, he has largely disappeared from the scene, even as Britain faces a summer cost-of-living crisis and labor discontent as inflation hits 9.4%.

Johnson did not attend any government emergency meetings about the heat wave that brought record temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) to Britain this week. Last week he took a ride in a Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jet, with "Top Gun"-style footage released by his office, then threw a weekend party at Chequers, the country house that comes with the prime minister's job.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan accused Johnson of wanting to "become Tom Cruise" and urged him to resign immediately.

"We need a full-time prime minister looking after our country rather than somebody who's checked out," Khan said.

Next Tory leader odds and polls: who will replace Boris Johnson ...

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Trump 'friend' Boris Johnson leading race to replace Theresa May

LONDON – A U.S.-born British politician who once told USA TODAY in an interview that the chance of him becoming prime minister was about as likely as finding Elvis on Mars or being reincarnated as an olive, is the frontrunner to take over for outgoing British leader Theresa May, according to betting markets and opinion polls.

Boris Johnson was born in New York City to British parents, but renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2016 amid a taxes crackdown by the Internal Revenue Service on the global earnings of dual nationals. He last lived in the United States as a 5-year-old.

"Boris Johnson is a friend of mine. He has been very, very nice to me, very supportive," President Donald Trump said in July last year after Johnson resigned as May's foreign secretary over her handling of Britain's attempt to leave the European Union – Brexit.

Like Trump, Johnson appears to enjoy the limelight and attracts controversy. He was once forced into an apology to the nation of Papua New Guinea for comparing infighting in his Conservative Party to "Papua New Guinea-style orgies of cannibalism and chief-killing." He was fired as a journalist for making up a quote.

May's fraught three-year tenure in office will officially end June 7, she announced Friday. The 62-year-old Conservative Party leader was forced from power, but she will remain as a caretaker prime minister until party lawmakers and members vote to elect a successor. In Britain, the public elects a party, not a candidate, meaning the government stays the same for now, until there is an election. The process is expected to take about six weeks. First, Conservative Party lawmakers hold a series of votes to whittle the field to two candidates. Then, those candidates are voted on by party members across the country.

Theresa May:Britain's embattled leader resigns premiership amid Brexit deadlock

Experts say that whoever ends up as Britain's next leader won't dramatically rewrite one of the closest diplomatic, economic and military alliances in history: The "special relationship" between the U.S. and Britain, a phrase and diplomatic modus operandi coined by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1946.

British-American goodwill has accrued through two world wars, the Cold War, several conflicts in the Middle East and close cooperation in fighting international terrorism. Often, it's said, the two nations are divided only by a common language.

Trump has described his relationship with May as the "highest level of special," but the two leaders did clash on the substance of policy – his Muslim travel ban, in particular –and the new partnership is not expected to be all plain sailing and photo ops, either.

"The special relationship hasn't been so special recently," said Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary, University of London.

"Partly because the president couldn't stop himself criticizing the way May had gone about Brexit, and partly because she and other British politicians have been a little wary about associating themselves too closely with a guy who most Brits (rightly or wrongly) treat as either downright dangerous or a laughingstock, or both. Whoever takes over won't be looking for a full-on (b)romance."

Richard Whitman, a professor of politics at the University of Kent, said the "chemistry between May and Trump was awkward." But he said Johnson-Trump would be different, calling it a "clash for the title of the greatest showman."

Meet the main contenders

Boris Johnson

Johnson, 54, is the bookmakers' favorite to succeed May. He is a direct descendant of King George II — his full name is Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson — and he has passed through many hallowed corridors of the British establishment. There was Eton College and the University of Oxford, where he was in the same classes as former British Prime Minister David Cameron. In addition to foreign secretary, Johnson has been London's mayor. He also was a journalist, editing The Spectator, a longstanding political magazine. Johnson is a leading supporter of Brexit. He has spoken of his admiration for Trump on several occasions, although when mayor he also said the U.S. president was "clearly out of his mind." Johnson is well-known in Britain for his tussled blonde hair and frequent classical allusions in speeches. One in four Britons think he would make a good prime minister, according to a survey by YouGov, a research firm.

Michael Gove

Another prominent supporter of Britain leaving the EU, Gove, 51, is currently minister for the environment. He had a cabinet-level role in Cameron's government and he is viewed as a seasoned operator with extremely good debating skills. (While at Oxford, Gove was president of the debating society.) Like Johnson, Gove is also a former journalist and he made headlines in Britain when he secured the first interview with Trump for a British publication after his election in 2016. Gove boasted in that interview for the Times of London that he spent an hour with the president-elect in his "glitzy, golden man cave" in Trump Tower, in New York City. Trump told Gove that Britain was "smart to leave the EU." Gove predicted Trump would resign or lose the 2020 election. If he ends up as Trump's new British counterpart, some of his comments out of the interview may come back to haunt him: "He is someone who is clearly narcissistic or egotistical enough to want to be seen as a success," Gove said of Trump.

Sajid Javid

Javid, 49, has held various cabinet-level positions in Conservative Party governments, most recently as home secretary, or interior minister. He is the son of a former bus driver from Pakistan and represents the relatively new face of British conservatism. Javid voted to stay in the EU in the referendum but has since campaigned aggressively for Britain to abide by the vote's outcome, and leave. He is known for taking a hard line on immigration and has been a fiercely vocal opponent of letting the wives and children of former Islamic State group fighters return to Britain. In one example, that of Shamima Begun, who fled to Syria's battlefields at 15, Javid is trying to revoke her citizenship in a case that mirrors that of New Jersey-born Hoda Muthana. The Trump administration is trying to block Muthana's return in a Washington court.

Andrea Leadsom

Leadsom, 56, was the last candidate standing against May in the 2016 race to succeed Cameron. She resigned Wednesday as leader of the House of Commons – a job responsible for arranging the order of government business in Britain's Parliament – in protest at May's then-refusal to step aside over Brexit. Leadsom is an ardent backer of Brexit but she stumbled during the leadership contest with May three years ago after she implied in an interview with a British newspaper that she thought she would make a better prime minister than May because being a mother gave her an "advantage" over the childless May. "I have children who are going to have children who will directly be part of what happens next," Leadsom said in the BBC interview. Leadsom also appeared to inflate her experience working in financial services.

Dominic Raab

Raab, 45, worked for an international law firm that litigated against war criminals before joining Britain's foreign diplomatic corp as an adviser in 2000. He has a black belt in karate and boxes regularly. Raab resigned as Brexit secretary in May's government so that he could vote against her EU withdrawal deal. He served only five months in the role. In interviews with the British press, Raab has spoken of wanting to get a "fairer deal for working Britain." He would do this, he said, by cutting taxes.

Who else could become Britain's next prime minister?

Boris Johnson, British Prime Minister, squeaks through confidence ...

London (CNN) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has survived a confidence vote by members of his own party -- but the final count of lawmakers who rebelled against him was far higher than his supporters expected.

After a tidal wave of recent criticism -- which included illegal, lockdown-breaking parties thrown in his Downing Street offices -- Johnson squeaked by with 211 votes to 148 in a secret ballot on Monday.

The government hailed the result, with Johnson saying he thought "this is a very good result for politics and for the country."

"I think it's a convincing result, a decisive result, and what it means is that as a government we can move on and focus on the stuff that really matters to people," Johnson said.

Yet his thin margin of victory means that 41% of his own parliamentary party refused to back Johnson, three years after he led the Conservative Party to a landslide victory in the last general election.

Voting began at 6 p.m. (1 p.m. ET) Monday after Johnson urged Conservative lawmakers to back him and reminded them that he had led the party to its biggest electoral win in 40 years, according to a letter he wrote seen by PA Media.

The large rebellion by his lawmakers will leave Johnson's reputation diminished and could damage his ability to push through legislation. Disappointing results for the party in upcoming polls could also heap more pressure on Johnson, as Conservatives face two difficult parliamentary by-elections in late June.

Despite the victory, the opposition Labour Party has said that by hanging onto power this time, Johnson makes the prospect of an early election even more likely. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer predicted to LBC that Monday's vote would mark "the beginning of the end" of the Prime Minister's political career -- no matter which way the vote went.

"If you look at the previous examples of no confidence votes, even when Conservative Prime Ministers survive those ... the damage is already done," the opposition leader told LBC Monday . "Usually, they fall reasonably swiftly afterwards."

Following the vote, Starmer said Johnson was "utterly unfit for the great office he holds" and accused Conservative lawmakers of ignoring the British public. "The Conservative Government now believes that breaking the law is no impediment to making the law."

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called Johnson an "utterly lame duck" on Twitter following the vote.

"That result is surely the worst of all worlds for the Tories. But much more importantly: at a time of huge challenge, it saddles the UK with an utterly lame duck PM," Sturgeon said in a tweet on Monday night.

JUST WATCHED 'No way out': Commentator predicts Boris Johnson's future Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH 'No way out': Commentator predicts Boris Johnson's future 02:10

Johnson's predecessor Theresa May was the last sitting British leader to face a no-confidence vote from their own party. May narrowly survived that vote, which had been called amid months of chaos over her doomed Brexit deal -- but she ultimately resigned months later.

Monday's vote was triggered after more than 54 lawmakers sent letters to the chair of the Tory backbench 1922 committee, following a tidal wave of criticism over a number of scandals that have engulfed Johnson's premiership for several months.

Last month, a damning report by a senior civil servant found a culture of partying and socializing among Johnson's staff during Covid-19 lockdown, while millions of Britons were banned from seeing their friends and relatives.

Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson British Prime Minister Boris Johnson waves from the steps of No. 10 Downing Street after giving a statement in London in July 2019. He had just become prime minister. Hide Caption 1 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson A 15-year-old Johnson, right, is seen outside Eton College, a boarding school outside London, in 1979. Hide Caption 2 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson, 21, speaks with Greek Minister for Culture Melina Mercouri in June 1986. Johnson at the time was president of the Oxford Union, a prestigious student society. Hide Caption 3 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson started his career as a journalist. He was fired from an early job at The Times for fabricating a quote. He later became a Brussels correspondent and then an assistant editor for The Daily Telegraph. From 1994 to 2005, he was editor of the weekly magazine The Spectator. Hide Caption 4 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson In 2001, Johnson was elected as a member of Parliament. He won the seat in Henley for the Conservative Party. Hide Caption 5 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson looks apologetic after fouling Germany's Maurizio Gaudino during a charity soccer match in Reading, England, in May 2006. Hide Caption 6 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson is congratulated by Conservative Party leader David Cameron, right, after being elected mayor of London in May 2008. Cameron later became prime minister. Hide Caption 7 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson, left, poses with a wax figure of himself at Madame Tussauds in London in May 2009. Hide Caption 8 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson poses for a photo in London in April 2011. He was re-elected as the city's mayor in 2012. Hide Caption 9 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson and his wife, Marina, enjoy the atmosphere in London ahead of the Olympic opening ceremony in July 2012. The couple separated in 2018 after 25 years of marriage. Hide Caption 10 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson gets stuck on a zip line during an event in London's Victoria Park in August 2012. Hide Caption 11 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson waves on London's Wandsworth Bridge as a bike-sharing program was expanded in the city in 2013. Hide Caption 12 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson poses with his father, Stanley, and his siblings, Rachel and Jo, at the launch of his new book in October 2014. Stanley Johnson was once a member of the European Parliament. Hide Caption 13 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson takes part in a charity tug-of-war with British military personnel in October 2015. Hide Caption 14 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson and Michael Gove ride on a "Vote Leave" campaign bus in June 2016. Hide Caption 15 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson kisses a wild salmon while visiting a fish market in London in June 2016. A month earlier, he stepped down as mayor but remained a member of Parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip. Hide Caption 16 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson arrives at a news conference in London in June 2016. During the Brexit referendum that year, he was under immense pressure from Prime Minister Cameron to back the Remain campaign. But he broke ranks and backed Brexit at the last minute. Hide Caption 17 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson sits next to Prime Minister Theresa May during a Cabinet meeting in November 2016. Johnson was May's foreign secretary for two years before resigning over her handling of Brexit. Hide Caption 18 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson As foreign secretary, Johnson meets with US House Speaker Paul Ryan in April 2017. Johnson was born in New York City to British parents and once held dual citizenship. But he renounced his US citizenship in 2016. Hide Caption 19 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson launches his Conservative Party leadership campaign in June 2019. Hide Caption 20 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt take part in the Conservative Leadership debate in June 2019. Hide Caption 21 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson speaks in July 2019 after he won the party leadership vote to become Britain's next prime minister. Hide Caption 22 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Britain's Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Johnson at Buckingham Palace, where she invited him to become Prime Minister and form a new government. Hide Caption 23 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson poses with his dog Dilyn as he leaves a polling station in London in December 2019. Hide Caption 24 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson appears on stage alongside Bobby Smith during the count declaration in London in December 2019. Johnson's Conservative Party won a majority in the UK's general election, securing his position as Prime Minister. Hide Caption 25 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson and his partner, Carrie Symonds, react to election results from his study at No. 10 Downing Street. Hide Caption 26 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson speaks on the phone with Queen Elizabeth II in March 2020. Hide Caption 27 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson In March 2020, Johnson announced in a video posted to Twitter that he tested positive for the novel coronavirus. "Over the last 24 hours, I have developed mild symptoms and tested positive for coronavirus. I am now self-isolating, but I will continue to lead the government's response via video conference as we fight this virus. Together we will beat this," Johnson said. He was later hospitalized after his symptoms had "worsened," according to his office. Hide Caption 28 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, outside of No. 10 Downing Street, join a national applause showing appreciation for health-care workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Hide Caption 29 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson is seen via video conference as he attends a Covid-19 meeting remotely in March 2020. Hide Caption 30 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson After recovering from the coronavirus, Johnson returned to work in late April 2020. Hide Caption 31 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson and staff members are pictured together with wine at a Downing Street garden in May 2020. In January 2022, Johnson apologized for attending the event, which took place when Britons were prohibited from gathering due to strict coronavirus restrictions. Hide Caption 32 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson wears a face mask as he visits the headquarters of the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust in July 2020. Hide Caption 33 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sits across from Johnson in the garden of No. 10 Downing Street in July 2020. Hide Caption 34 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson 14/07/2020. London, United Kingdom. Boris Johnson and Carrie NHS Call.The Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his partner Carrie Symonds with their son Wilfred in the study of No10 Downing Street speaking via zoom to the midwifes that helped deliver their son at the UCLH. Hide Caption 35 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson holds a crab in Stromness Harbour during a visit to Scotland in July 2020. Hide Caption 36 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson is seen with his wife, Carrie, after their wedding at London's Westminster Cathedral in May 2021. The ceremony, described by PA Media as a "secret wedding," was reportedly held in front of close friends and family, according to several British newspaper accounts. Hide Caption 37 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson and US President Joe Biden speak at Carbis Bay in Cornwall, England, after their bilateral meeting in June 2021. Biden and Johnson were participating in the G7 summit that weekend. Hide Caption 38 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Queen Elizabeth II greets Johnson at Buckingham Palace in June 2021. It was the Queen's first in-person weekly audience with the Prime Minister since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Hide Caption 39 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson delivers his keynote speech on the final day of the annual Conservative Party Conference in October 2021. Hide Caption 40 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson and former British prime ministers attend a requiem Mass for Conservative MP David Amess in November 2021. From left are former Prime Ministers John Major, David Cameron and Theresa May, Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Johnson. Hide Caption 41 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson and his wife, Carrie, holding their newborn daughter, Romy, hold video calls in December 2021. Hide Caption 42 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson speaks in the House of Commons in January 2022. He apologized for attending a May 2020 garden party that took place while the UK was in a hard lockdown to combat the spread of Covid-19. Johnson told lawmakers he believed the gathering to be a work event but that, with hindsight, he should have sent attendees back inside. Hide Caption 43 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, Ukraine, in April 2022. Hide Caption 44 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson attends the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral in London in June 2022. It was part of Platinum Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II. Hide Caption 45 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson "I think it's an extremely good, positive, conclusive, decisive result which enables us to move on to unite," Johnson said in an interview shortly after surviving a confidence vote in June 2022. Hide Caption 46 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson leaves No. 10 Downing Street on July 6, a day after two senior Cabinet ministers quit over Downing Street's handling of the resignation of deputy chief whip Chris Pincher. Hide Caption 47 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson At Prime Minister's Questions on July 6, Johnson said "the job of a Prime Minister in difficult circumstances when he has been handed a colossal mandate is to keep going, and that's what I'm going to do." Hide Caption 48 of 49 Photos: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Johnson announces his resignation in front of No. 10 Downing Street on July 7. "It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister," he said. Hide Caption 49 of 49

The so-called Partygate scandal plunged his approval ratings and sparked a drumbeat of dissatisfaction among several of his backbenchers. But Johnson has also been criticized for his response to a cost-of-living crisis, and his party suffered heavy losses at local elections in May.

Under Conservative party rules -- which can be changed at any time -- a leader who survives a confidence vote is safe from such a challenge for 12 months.

But with only 58.6% of Conservative MPs backing Johnson on Monday, the Prime Minister suffered a worse result than his predecessor May, who had the support of 63% of her lawmakers in a much smaller parliamentary party when she faced a confidence vote in 2018.

Despite the worse performance, Johnson insisted it was an "extremely good" result, saying he was not interested in a snap election to gain a new mandate from the public.

Tara John
Ivana Kottasová
Rob Picheta
Luke Mcgee

French election: Emmanuel Macron to face Marine Le Pen in French ...

Paris (CNN) French President Emmanuel Macron will face Marine Le Pen in the second round of the country's presidential election, setting up a rematch of their runoff contest in 2017.

Centrist Macron and Le Pen, a long-time standard-bearer for the French far-right, were the top two candidates in the first round of Sunday's vote, picking up 27.8% and 23.2% of the ballots respectively, according to the French Interior Ministry.

Twelve candidates ran for the top job. Since none of them received more than 50% of the ballots in the first round, the top two candidates will face each other in a runoff on April 24.

The first round of the 2022 contest was marked by voter apathy, with participation estimated at 73.3%, according to an analysis by pollster Ifop-Fiducial for French broadcasters TF1 and LCI -- the lowest in a first round in 20 years.

While Macron received more votes than any of the other candidates in the first round, he is a polarizing figure whose approval rating has sagged during his first term.

In a speech after polls closed on Sunday, he urged citizens to vote in the second round.

"Nothing is settled and the debate that we will have in the coming 15 days is decisive for our country and our Europe," he said. "I don't want a France which, having left Europe, would have as its only allies the international populists and xenophobes. That is not us. I want a France faithful to humanism, to the spirit of enlightenment," he said.

Macron is seeking to become the first French president to win reelection since Jacques Chirac in 2002. Polls have given him a consistent edge over the rest of the field, but the race has tightened significantly in the past month.

Polling by Ifop-Fiducial released on Sunday showed that Macron would win a second-round contest against Le Pen by just 51% to 49%.

Le Pen's support has steadily risen in recent weeks. Though she is best known for her far-right policies such as drastically restricting immigration and banning Muslim headscarves in public places, she has run a more mainstream campaign this time around, softening her language and focusing more on pocketbook issues like the rising cost of living, a top concern for the French electorate.

Marine Le Pen addresses her supporters on Sunday after the first round of the French presidential election.

In her speech Sunday, Le Pen vowed to be a president for "all the French" if she wins the second round, and called on those who didn't vote for Macron to support her in the second round.

Leftist firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon came third, with 22% of the vote. He enjoyed a late surge in support and was considered a possible dark horse candidate to challenge Macron.

Who Melenchon's voters choose to back in the second round could decide the presidency, experts say. Melenchon told his supporters that "we must not give a single vote to Mrs. Le Pen," but did not explicitly back Macron.

No other candidate received more than 10% of the votes. Far-right political commentator turned presidential candidate Eric Zemmour, who enjoyed a seat among the top three candidates until March, according to Ifop polling, came in fourth at 7.1%.

The other candidates on Sunday's ballot have quickly begun throwing their weight behind the top two. While Zemmour called on his backers to vote for Le Pen, the others urged their supporters to steer clear of her.

The candidates from the traditional center-left and center-right parties, the Socialists and the Republicans, have already backed Macron.

Socialist Anne Hidalgo said a Le Pen victory would instill in France "a hatred of everyone set against everyone," while Republican Valerie Pecresse said she was sincerely worried for the country because "the far right has never been so close to winning."

"The project of Marine Le Pen will open France to discord, impotence, and collapse," said Pecresse.

A woman picks her ballots in the first round of the French presidential election in Lyon, central France, on Sunday.

The rematch

Macron's political rise shattered the playing field, as his centrist political party has pulled supporters away from the traditional centrist parties, the Socialists and the Republicans. Both its candidates polled under 5% on Sunday.

Surveys ahead of the race showed that a second round of Macron vs. Le Pen was the most likely outcome. Macron handily beat Le Pen five years ago, but experts have said that a second contest between the two would be much tighter than the 2017 race.

Macron is no longer a political upstart and must run on a mixed record. While his ambitious plan to bolster the European Union's autonomy and geopolitical heft won him respect abroad and at home, he remains a divisive figure when it comes to domestic policies. His handling of the yellow vest movement , one of France's most prolonged protests in decades, was widely panned, and his record on the Covid-19 pandemic is inconclusive.

Macron's signature policy during the crisis -- requiring people to show proof of vaccination to go about their lives as normal -- helped increase vaccination rates but fired up a vocal minority against his presidency.

France's President Emmanuel Macron (center), next to his wife Brigitte Macron (left), speaks to a resident before voting for the first round of the presidential election on Sunday.

Macron has, so far, done very little campaigning. Experts believe his strategy was to avoid the political mudslinging as long as possible to brandish his image as the most presidential of all the candidates. Polling showed him consistently leading all candidates, and he was considered a shoo-in to make the second round.

"The widespread dissatisfaction with Macron (especially among the young) means that the outcome is uncertain and unpredictable. Le Pen will continue to exploit this, and a major political upset therefore remains possible," said CNN European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas of the second round matchup.

"However much they may dislike Le Pen, there is a world of difference between her and Macron, and how she would disrupt European and global politics."

Le Pen is the daughter of another famous far-right presidential candidate, Jean-Marie Le Pen. The elder Le Pen made it to the runoff against Jacques Chirac in 2002, but Marine Le Pen has managed to perform better than her father in the first round of each of the past two presidential elections.

Le Pen has tried to portray herself as a very different candidate to the one who lost to Macron in 2017 , when she attempted to position herself to the forgotten French working classes as her country's answer to then-US President Donald Trump. While her economic nationalist stance, views on immigration, euroskepticism and positions on Islam in France are unchanged, Le Pen has sought to broaden her appeal.

The contest was at first predicted to be a referendum on the dominance of the extreme right in French politics, but the war in Ukraine -- another key issue for voters -- upended the race.

According to Ifop polling, Macron's support peaked in early March, as potential voters rallied around the flag and rewarded the president for his attempts to mediate the conflict in Ukraine before Russia's invasion, even if it was a failure.

Many experts also expected the war to hurt the Le Pen, who had been a vocal admirer of Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader who has become a pariah in the West due to the Kremlin's decision to invade Ukraine in late February. Le Pen visited the Russian president during her 2017 campaign; this time around, she was forced to scrap a leaflet with a photo of her and Putin from that trip after Russia's unprovoked attack on its neighbor.

Thomas, the CNN European affairs commentator, explained that the forthcoming debates will be crucial if Macron is to convince voters that Le Pen's previous support for Putin should disqualify her.

"He will be vulnerable on a range of domestic issues, but she will have difficulty convincing the electorate of her foreign policy credentials, especially given her longstanding links with Russia," he said.