Boris Johnson, frontrunner to be Britain¡¯s next prime minister, promised Monday to lead the country out of the European Union on Oct. 31 with or without an exit deal, launching his leadership bid in a campaign video.

Prime Minister Theresa May is due to resign Friday having failed to deliver Brexit on schedule. She leaves behind a divided nation and Parliament with no consensus on the way ahead for the world¡¯s fifth-largest economy.

Johnson, a former foreign minister who resigned in protest at May¡¯s handling of Brexit, is the bookmakers¡¯ favorite to win a crowded contest and take over the running of the country at its most important strategic juncture in decades.