Boris Johnson faces a no-confidence vote in his leadership on Monday night amid a dramatic escalation of tensions between the UK prime minister and his own lawmakers.
Conservative MPs will vote in a secret ballot from 6 to 8 pm on whether they want Johnson to remain prime minister after the party scandal. In a letter to Tory MPs, he said the vote would be a chance to “stop media speculation and bring the country forward” “after weeks of negative headlines about Whitehall rallies during the Covid-19 blockade.
“We will need all our collective determination to help our country during the difficult months ahead,” he wrote.
The vote was triggered after more than 54 lawmakers, or 15 percent of the parliamentary party, sent letters to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Tory Commission since 1922, crossing the required threshold.
Johnson spent Monday begging lawmakers to support him, including at a 1922 committee meeting, and his allies are confident he will survive the secret ballot. “If he wins, it will draw a line under him,” Sajid Javid, health secretary, told the BBC.
Jeremy Hunt, a former cabinet minister who lost the 2019 leadership race to Johnson, has become the most prominent conservative to call on the prime minister to resign.
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“Conservative MPs know in their hearts that we are not giving the British people the leadership they deserve,” he said on Twitter. “We do not offer the necessary integrity, competence and vision. . . today’s decision is a change or a loss. I will vote for change. “
John Penrose, the government’s anti-corruption king, resigned on Monday after saying Johnson had committed a “fundamental violation of the ministerial code” in connection with the party saga.
According to party rules, Johnson will have to secure a simple majority of 180 deputies in a secret ballot to continue in office. The prime minister’s allies believe he will easily surpass that sum.
The rules state that it cannot be challenged for 12 months after that, although Tory senior MPs do not rule out the possibility of changing the rules to allow a new vote within that period.
But even if Johnson wins a no-confidence vote, the bitterness and collapse of party discipline will be difficult to repair. Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, who survived a no-confidence vote in 2018, resigned less than six months later.
As part of a change in the political ground beneath Johnson’s feet, longtime supporter Jesse Norman, a former finance minister, published a letter Monday condemning the prime minister’s leadership as a “charade”.
He said Johnson led a “culture of accidental breaking of the law” at No. 10 in connection with parties during the Covid blockade, and the prime minister’s belief that he was justified by a report by senior government official Sue Gray at partygate was “Grotesque”.
Norman also criticized Johnson’s plan to unilaterally rewrite the Northern Ireland Protocol, which governs trade relations in the region after Brexit, and his initiative to send migrants to Rwanda.
Conservative MPs had the opportunity to spend the past week in their constituencies during a parliamentary holiday, and many used the time to talk to voters and consider Johnson’s leadership.
The four-day platinum jubilee weekend, in which Britain gathered for a series of national celebrations, included Johnson’s booing when he arrived for a thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
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Tories’ dissatisfaction with partygate crystallized anger, but Johnson’s separation policy and his decision last week to approve another tax increase – this time for energy companies – angered some on the right.
A private note circulated to Tory rebels over the past 24 hours lists the reasons for removing their leader.
The shared document states: “If he is left in office, he will lead the party to a significant defeat in 2024. He will lose seats in the Red Wall (with a majority of 10,000) from Labor and seats in the Blue Wall (up to 20,000) from the Liberals. Democrats. At least 160 lawmakers are at risk.
Senior cabinet members – including Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Equalization Secretary Michael Gove and Javid – immediately backed Johnson publicly, either on Twitter or in media interviews.
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