Dhe British Prime Minister Boris Johnson narrowly survived a vote of no confidence on Monday. 211 MPs from the Tory faction voted in a secret ballot in the evening in favor of him, 148 against him. This was announced by MP Graham Brady as chairman of the responsible committee on Sunday evening. Previously, numerous ministers had urged the rebels in the group to “keep perspective” and take Johnson’s strengths into account. Shortly before the vote, Johnson himself had campaigned for support in an extraordinary parliamentary group meeting and announced that he wanted to lead the party into the next general election. “The best is yet to come,” Johnson was quoted as saying.
The vote was only announced in the morning. Over the four-day celebrations of Queen Elizabeth’s 70th jubilee, the number of applicants had increased to at least 54, making a vote of no confidence under the group’s statutes unavoidable. Johnson had already been informed on Sunday that the quorum had been reached and had set the date with the chairman of the responsible parliamentary group committee (“1922 Committee”), Graham Brady.
Most of Johnson’s critics condemned his behavior during the “Partygate” affair and denied him the character suitability for conducting official business. At least eight events that violated the corona rules had been held at Johnson’s official residence during the pandemic. He had repeatedly assured the House of Commons that he knew nothing about it, but had to pay a fine. A committee is still examining whether he lied to Parliament.
Former Secretary of State Hunt campaigned against Johnson
A spokesman for Johnson called the no-confidence vote “a chance to end months of speculation and allow the government to draw the line and move forward.” The Prime Minister welcomed “the opportunity to clarify his position before (Tory) MPs,” it said.
Before the vote, a number of previously reluctant MPs had spoken out against Johnson, including former Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt and the government’s anti-corruption officer, John Penrose, who also resigned from his post.
Some of the Prime Minister’s more prominent critics include former Prime Minister Theresa May, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, former Brexit Secretary David Davis, former Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom and committee chairs Tobias Ellwood and Tom Tugendhat.
Johnson has been under domestic political pressure since it emerged bit by bit over the winter that his official home in London’s Downing Street was partying excessively while the rest of Britain sat in long lockdowns and was unable to say goodbye to dying loved ones.
The recently released investigative report by senior official Sue Gray, which gave Downing Street officials a devastating record of good conduct, had encouraged more MPs to write their letters to the 1922 Committee responsible and its chairman, Brady.