Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith has delivered a defiant Brexit message insisting Boris Johnson will “lift the nation”. Mr Duncan Smith said Brexit was the “number one task” for the former foreign secretary, who will take over as Prime Minister on Wednesday afternoon. Speaking on Sky News, Mr Duncan Smith said: “The truth is, right in the middle of everything he does, he is keen on more police, more social care, all these issues including education, right running through the heart of this, is the fact it is law that we leave by October 31, this year.

“Boris Johnson has pledged to do that – that is the number one task that will swamp everything else until we clear that out in 100 days.”

He added: “Genuinely, I think I am very happy that Boris is now the leader. I think he will lift the nation.

“The jobs we do are all petty stuff at the end of the day, the key thing is, where do we end up? What’s the direction? And is this the leader, which I believe he is, to lift the nation again and get us focused on the greatness of this country rather than be so miserable about everything over the last three years.”

Asked about the prospect of a general election, Mr Duncan Smith said: “I personally am not in favour of general elections at this particular stage.

Genuinely, I think I am very happy that Boris is now the leader. I think he will lift the nation

Iain Duncan Smith

“I think the public is pretty angry with us generally as a political class, you have probably seen that yourself, for failing to deliver on, what they were told, was their decision.

“You have seen already the formation of a new party which destabilises the normal course of events in Parliament.

“But, more importantly, I think people want us to deliver. What they don’t want is for us to turn around and say ‘do you know what – we’re going to have another election’.

“They want to see us do what we said we were going to do – which is leave by October 31.”

The former foreign secretary secured more than two-thirds of the votes in the Conservative Party leadership contest and will put together his cabinet as he prepares for Government.

Mr Johnson secured 92,153 votes – 66.4 percent – to defeat Mr Hunt, who was backed by 46,656 Tory members.

Speaking after the result on Tuesday, the new Tory leader used his victory speech to promise he will “energise the country” and meet the October 31 Brexit deadline with a “new spirit of can-do”.

He added: “I know that there will be people around the place who will question the wisdom of your decision. And there may even be some people here who still wonder quite what they have done.

“I would just point out to you, of course, nobody, no one party, no one person has a monopoly of wisdom.

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“But if you look at the history of the last 200 years of this party’s existence you will see that it is we Conservatives who have had the best insights, I think, into human nature.”

Mrs May, who will resign on Wednesday after a final session of Prime Minister’s Questions, offered her congratulations to Mr Johnson.

She wrote on Twitter: “Many congratulations to @BorisJohnson on being elected leader of @Conservatives – we now need to work together to deliver a Brexit that works for the whole UK and to keep Jeremy Corbyn out of government. You will have my full support from the back benches.”

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, said Brussels looked forward to “working constructively” on ratifying the withdrawal agreement – the deal which Mr Johnson has already declared dead.

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