Some of music’s most notable faces have reacted after Boris Johnson was confirmed as the next Prime Minister today (July 23).
The leading Brexiteer secured a landslide victory in the Conservative leadership race, defeating rival Jeremy Hunt after vowing to leave the European Union by October 31.
He will officially become the Prime Minister tomorrow, taking over from the outgoing Theresa May who announced her resignation in May after repeatedly failing to secure a Brexit deal with the EU.
One of the first reactions came from Stormzy, who retweeted a clip of his No.1 hit ‘Vossi Bop’. The track is known for the stand-out lyric of “Fuck the government and fuck Boris”.
once again, @stormzy sums up today https://t.co/M3gxxWKyqG
— David (@daveygranger) July 23, 2019
Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, meanwhile, opted for a simple “Fuck You” as he shared a screenshot of a letter from Johnson’s Eton College master – which criticised his “cavalier” attitude to studies.
Fuck You ‘Prime Minister…’ https://t.co/GcgCdqHAPj
— Thom Yorke (@thomyorke) July 23, 2019
Slowthai also voiced his anger and compared Johnson to a “lesser” version of US President Donald Trump.
“ANOTHER INCOMPETENT TWAT IN NUMBER 10 JUST A LESSER VERSION TRUMP PLEASE LET ME EVACUATE THE PREMISE,” he wrote.
“Fuck Boris”.
ANOTHER INCOMPETENT TWAT IN NUMBER 10 JUST A LESSER VERSION TRUMP PLEASE LET ME EVACUATE THE PREMISE.
— slowthai (@slowthai) July 23, 2019
FUCK BORIS.
— slowthai (@slowthai) July 23, 2019
There was also disbelief from The Charlatans‘ Tim Burgess, who previously predicted the leadership of both Donald Trump and Boris Johnson. Burgess previously wrote: “Sometime in the future: President Trump sits in his marble jacuzzi, talking via video link to Prime Minister Boris Johnson in his ball pool.”
He responded today: “Oh no. I made a prediction four years ago and it just came true : /.”
Oh no. I made a prediction four years ago and it just came true : / https://t.co/p0wdBDggL8
— Tim Burgess (@Tim_Burgess) July 23, 2019
Check out a series of other reactions below.
Boris Johnson has been fired from multiple jobs for lying, has made numerous racist and homophobic remarks and we don't even know how many kids he has. Why did we scrap his water cannons rather than give him an enema with them?
— 99 Souls (@99SoulsOfficial) July 23, 2019
Fuck this boris nonsense, glad to be heading back to USA this aft where things are a bit more modera…oh wait no
— Hudson Mohawke (@HudMo) July 23, 2019
More posh rich people telling us to be optimistic about Brexit when their own experts say it will be a disaster. It is odd.
— ed simons (@eddychemical) July 23, 2019
He’s not PM yet…… @Conservatives don’t let this happen. Pls
— Simon Kaiser ? (@curlywand) July 23, 2019
#NotMyPM https://t.co/UsKArWWA7T
— ENTER SHIKARI (@ENTERSHIKARI) July 23, 2019
Meanwhile, it was also reported that protesters outside Parliament were heard playing Muse’s ‘Uprising’ to show their dismay.
In the run-up to the result, former Smiths turned solo icon Johnny Marr was among those to warn of the threat of Johnson.
“I wish people would stop referring to ‘Boris’ like he’s some cuddly fun character,” he wrote. “They should refer to him by his full name; “That Wanker Boris Johnson”.
He later assured a crowd in Spain that “not everyone in England was a fucking dick”.
I wish people would stop referring to “Boris” like he’s some cuddly fun character. They should refer to him by his full name; “That Wanker Boris Johnson”.
— Johnny Marr (@Johnny_Marr) July 9, 2019
Marr previously hit out at the former Prime Minister David Cameron saying that he “forbid” the Tory leader from liking his former band The Smiths and “inhuman” treatment of disabled people after it was previously reported that the Tories planned to cut disabled benefits by £30 a week in 2015.