Prime Minister Boris Johnson got down to work Monday following his sweeping election victory, appointing ministers and announcing plans to publish legislation this week to get Britain out of the European Union.
"The government has just been elected with a clear majority to deliver Brexit, and we're focused on passing the legislation to ensure that happens by January 31," the spokesman said. The main opposition Labour party meanwhile was relegated to its worst defeat since before World War II, forcing leader Jeremy Corbyn to announce a plan for his departure.In his first ministerial appointment, Johnson announced that Nicky Morgan, who quit as culture minister after deciding not to stand again as an MP in last week's vote, would stay on in the job as a member of the House of Lords.He is expected to conduct a real overhaul once the first stage of Brexit is safely out of the way.
London has the option to extend the transition but Johnson has insisted this will not happen, saying it is time to break free of EU rules. The Tories won the election by taking a swathe of northern English and Welsh seats from the Labour party, reshaping the political landscape.