“Boris Johnson clings to his post as Prime Minister”écrit The Guardian. Stuck for months in the affair of the “partygate”the head of the British government survived a vote of no confidence on Monday, June 6, from which he however emerged “very weakened”. He won the support of 211 MPs, but 148 voted against him.
“This is the worst verdict ever handed down against a sitting Prime Minister by his own party”notes the newspaper, which notes that “41% of Tories voted for his ouster”and evokes “a rebellion of unexpected magnitude”.
Boris Johnson told MPs his victory would end months of speculation over his future and he could now fully focus on delivering policy, raising the possibility of future tax cuts.
“It’s a very good result for politics and the country. It is a convincing result, a decisive result”he said.
However, emphasizes the Financial Timesthe vote “revealed the extent of the divisions and animosity” within his formation, and “leaves his authority seriously compromised”.
An uncertain political future
“While Boris Johnson and his allies claimed the vote as a victory, many Tory MPs, including some of his supporters, believe this attempt to ‘coup’ marks the beginning of the end of his three-year term”warns The Guardian. With so many of his party members voting against him, the prime minister effectively lost majority support in parliament, “with the risk that his government will be paralyzed”.
Under current rules, Boris Johnson “is theoretically immune to another challenge to his leadership for a year”explains the daily.
But the proportion of MPs who voted against Boris Johnson on Monday is even larger than the vote of no confidence against Theresa May in 2018, forced out of office just six months later, and the vote against Margaret Thatcher in 1990, which left her there. saw him resign a week later.
The 57-year-old leader is now “facing an uncertain political future”warns The Independent. car a “flux constant” Tory MPs have publicly called for his resignation, since the publication of a report investigating the clandestine parties at 10 Downing Street, in breach of health restrictions. “And their concerns go far beyond”whether it is the policy pursued by Boris Johnson, “with a tax burden at its highest in seventy years”and the questions “regarding his leadership style”.