Boris Johnson was running for prime minister on Monday night after 148 of his deputies voted to remove him from Downing Street in the ballot, revealing potentially fatal rifts in his party.
The prime minister won the support of 211 lawmakers, but 41% of his party voted to get rid of him, with many citing his lack of repentance over the Partygate scandal and the loss of public confidence in his leadership. It was the worst sentence for an incumbent prime minister by their own party in recent times.
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Although Johnson and his allies say the vote is a victory, many Conservative lawmakers, including some of his supporters, say the coup attempt marks the beginning of the end of his three-year term.
With so many of his party voting against him, the prime minister virtually lost his support for a majority in parliament, risking paralyzing his government.
Johnson is theoretically safe from another one-year leadership challenge under the Committee’s 1922 rules – but Theresa May was forced to resign just six months after winning a no-confidence vote after being permanently disabled, although won by 200 votes to 117.
The share of MPs who voted against Johnson was even higher than the votes against May in 2018 and Margaret Thatcher in 1990. Thatcher resigned a week later.
Speaking after the result, Johnson insisted that it was an “extremely good, positive, convincing, decisive result” that would allow him to “move forward and focus on delivery”. He also claims to have “won a much longer term” than his colleagues than in his 2019 presidential election, although critics have questioned that claim. Johnson also declined to rule out calling early elections, although he said he was “not interested” in the idea.
The day in three minutes: Boris Johnson wins a no-confidence vote – video
Nadim Zahaui claims that Johnson has “won well” and hopes that the result will “draw a line under all speculations from the media and Twitter”, which will lead to a “united party”.
The Secretary of Education also claims that Vladimir Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, will “blow the air” from the result.
James Cleverley, the foreign minister, called it a “comfortable” and “clear” victory for Johnson, while Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant said the result was “much better” than he had feared.
However, rebel lawmakers said Johnson should leave for the good of the party and the country. Sir Roger Gale, one of Johnson’s leading critics, said the “prime minister of honor” must realize that he has lost the support of a significant number of his deputies. He suggested that the rebels would continue to oppose Johnson’s stay as prime minister.
The scale of the uprising means that some ministers and government officials must have voted against Johnson in the secret ballot, while remaining publicly supportive.
A former cabinet minister said he believed Johnson could soon face other attempts to oust him if the Tories lost two by-elections on June 23 or if a parliamentary inquiry found the prime minister had misled the House of Commons. “The role of the main whip will be key,” he said. “His role would be to tell the prime minister that he has lost his cabinet.
Labor leader Keir Starmer said the Conservative Party “believes the British public has no right to expect honest politicians now”, while Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said Tory MPs had “voted closely to detain the lawbreaker”. and a liar in No. 10. ”
The no-confidence vote was launched early Monday morning after more than 54 Tory MPs – 15% of the total – submitted no-confidence letters to Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, which represents the back courts.
Johnson made an offer at the last minute to win colleagues, but a number of Tory MPs said they were surprised by the lack of effort in the operation.
The rebels started the day thinking Johnson was sure he would win a landslide vote, but became increasingly encouraged after John Penrose’s resignation as anti-corruption king number 10 and a critical statement by Jeremy Hunt, a possible contender for leadership.
“Anyone who believes that our country is stronger, fairer and more prosperous when led by conservatives must think that the consequence of unchanged will be to hand over the country to others who do not share these values. Today’s decision is change or loss. I will vote for change, “Hunt said.
Announcing his resignation, Penrose called on Johnson to resign, accusing the prime minister of failing to respond to the “broader and more serious criticism” contained in Sue Gray’s report of Downing Street parties.
He said that the only fair conclusion that could be drawn from Gray’s report was “that you have violated a basic principle of the Ministerial Code – a clear question of resignation.”
Jesse Norman, a former finance minister, also published a rebuttal letter saying Johnson had “chaired a culture of accidentally breaking 10 Downing Street laws regarding Covid.” For Johnson to be described as justified by Gray’s report last month was “grotesque”, he said, adding that violating the Northern Ireland Protocol would be “reckless and almost certainly illegal”, while the policy of deporting asylum seekers into politics Rwanda is “ugly”. “.
A number of Scottish Tory MPs, including leader Douglas Ross and John Lamont, who resigned as assistant minister, also said they had voted against Johnson.
Some lawmakers reaffirmed their determination against the prime minister after he delivered a provocative speech to the committee late Monday afternoon in 1922, suggesting he would make the same decision again regarding the detention of leaving dossiers at number 10 during the blockade.
He also accused the “media focus on the Conservative Party’s leadership” and sought to steer the Brexit debate, arguing that voting against it would lead to a “hell of a marmot” day to re-join the EU’s single market.
“Let’s refuse to dance to the tune of the media, let’s refuse to satisfy our opponents by turning to ourselves,” he said. “Let us show this country that we understand that this is a time to unite and serve. If we can do that, then believe me, whatever they say about me, I will lead you to victory again and the winners will be the people of this country. “
After the meeting, a briefing by a Tory source in support of the prime minister also downplayed the significance of the Partygate furor, which infuriated the public. “Is there anyone here who hasn’t been angry in his life?” Is there anyone here who doesn’t like a glass of wine for decompression? ” they said.
But one of the first lawmakers to leave the meeting, Brexit architect Steve Baker, had a very different opinion. He told reporters it was a “very, very sad day”, but felt he had no choice but to vote against the prime minister.
“For me, although this is an incredibly difficult time, I cannot go beyond the requirement to have a culture of law enforcement at the very top of government,” he said. “I told the prime minister that if he breaks the law, he will have to leave, he has obviously broken the law, he has clearly agreed to break the law and therefore he must keep his word.
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