In pictures, behind scenes tale of great Boris triumph
IT was an election won on planes, trains and automobiles.
Indefatigable Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent six relentless weeks – and thousands of miles – criss-crossing Britain to deliver his Get Brexit Done message.
Surviving on just a few hours sleep each night, and fortified by strong coffee and a self-imposed alcohol ban, Mr Johnson, 55, displayed boundless energy as the miles clocked up.
These pictures reveal the key members of Team Boris who worked with the Prime Minister during the gruelling campaign.
And none were more important than partner Carrie Symonds, 31, who was by his side during the tensest times as well as the moment the exit polls confirmed his phenomenal electoral achievement.
But on board the Conservative battle bus, election plane or alone in a train carriage he was never far from his overflowing ministerial box, fine-tuning speeches and obsessively reading briefing papers.
Countless lonely hours on the campaign trail were spent studiously pouring over policy documents.
This quiet diligence and attention to detail went unnoticed by most, but enabled him to clearly convey his rock-solid plans to move the UK forward from its Parliamentary paralysis whenever he met the public.
Intelligent
While millions of voters will remember the PM clutching a cod in Grimsby, icing doughnuts at a Jewish deli, posing for a selfie with Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on ITV’s This Morning or driving a JCB digger, emblazoned with the words Get Brexit Done, through a wall that said “gridlock”, it was the quiet moments that really counted.
These intimate pictures capture a brooding, uniquely intelligent and masterful politician at the top of his game.
They also reveal a man as terrified over the prospect of Britain under a hard-Left socialist government led by Jeremy Corbyn as the millions of voters who backed the Tories at the General Election.
It was his fear of Labour and the Lib Dems doing all in their power to derail Brexit, and his worry the country would be taken back decades and put at the mercy of union militants, that focused his razor-sharp mind.
On Thursday night and into the small hours of Friday it quickly became apparent that Britain shared Boris’s vision of a bright and better future. As soon as the exit poll estimated a thumping Conservative majority the sense of relief was palpable, not least inside Number 10 where Mr Johnson broke his alcohol ban and enjoyed a drink and a homemade curry cooked by Carrie.
It was a moment to savour – a Britain free from the tyrannical clutches of Corbyn and his Marxist sidekick John McDonnell.
We’ll drink to that.