Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, will face a no-confidence vote on Monday that could force him out of office, as public anger with his reign threatens to bring down a politician who has often appeared invincible despite numerous scandals.
If Johnson loses the vote of the 359 Conservative members of Parliament, the party will elect a new leader, who will also be Prime Minister. Under existing party rules, if he wins, he can’t face another challenge for a year – albeit a narrow victory would leave him a crippled leader whose days are likely numbered.
Regardless of the outcome, Johnson is at a crossroads. Enough legislators have demanded a vote, and that is a watershed moment for him. It’s also a symptom of profound splits inside the Conservative Party, less than three years after Johnson led the party to its largest election triumph in decades.
Johnson’s electoral success has previously shielded him from the consequences of an increasing number of controversies. But he’s been unable to move on from reports that he and his employees hosted drunken parties in violation of the COVID-19 limitations imposed on the UK in 2020 and 2021.
Graham Brady, a Conservative Party official, stated Monday that he had received letters from at least 54 Tory legislators requesting a no-confidence vote, which is required by party rules.
Brady stated, “The threshold of 15% (of Conservatives in the House of Commons) has been passed.” He stated that the vote would be held in person in the Commons on Monday evening, with the results being announced shortly thereafter.
The prime minister’s office in Downing Street said Johnson was pleased with the result.
“Tonight is an opportunity to put an end to months of conjecture and allow the administration to draw a line in the sand and move on, delivering on the people’s priorities,” the statement read.
Johnson’s allies believe he will receive more than 180 legislators’ support and beat the challenge. However, he could still be seriously weakened when he emerges. Theresa May was the latest prime minister to survive a vote of no confidence in 2018. She never regained her position of power and resigned within months, triggering a leadership election that Johnson won.
His nomination in July 2019 marked the end of a wild ride to the top. He had served in high-ranking positions, including London mayor and UK foreign secretary, yet he had also stepped down from politics due to self-inflicted gaffes. He kept coming back, demonstrating an uncanny capacity to shrug off scandal and connect with people, which for many Conservatives outweighed concerns about his ethics and judgment.
However, concerns have been mounting, and they reached a head last month after an investigator’s report lambasted a culture of rule-breaking inside the prime minister’s Downing Street office in the “partygate” incident.
Sue Gray, a civil service investigator, detailed booze-fueled parties hosted by Downing Street staff members at a time when pandemic restrictions restricted U.K. people from mingling or even seeing dying relatives due to pandemic restrictions.
“Failures of leadership and judgment” must be blamed on the “senior leadership team,” according to Gray.
Johnson was also fined £50 ($63) by police for attending one party, making him the first prime minister to face legal action while in office.
The prime minister expressed his “humbleness” and acceptance of “full responsibility,” but stated that he would not resign. He asked Britons to “move on” and concentrate on the country’s ailing economy and the conflict in Ukraine.
However, an increasing percentage of Conservatives believe Johnson has become a liability.
Longtime Johnson supporter Jesse Norman claimed that the prime minister had “presided over a culture of casual law-breaking” and had left the administration “adrift and preoccupied.”
Norman remarked in a letter, “I am afraid I can envision no conditions under which I could serve in a government led by you.”
If Johnson is fired, a Conservative leadership race will erupt, with several high-ranking government ministers expected to run.
“We have some very good alternatives to the prime minister, so we’re not short of option,” Conservative MP Roger Gale, a Johnson opponent, said.
“In my opinion, any one of those persons would make a better prime minister than the one we have now,” he told the BBC.
Discontent appears to have reached a boiling point during a parliamentary recess that coincided with Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. For many, the four-day weekend provided a chance to unwind — but not for Johnson, who was booed by some bystanders when he arrived at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Friday for service in the queen’s honor.
Senior ministers, some of whom are expected to run for the party’s leadership in the future, have expressed their support for Johnson.
“In today’s vote, the Prime Minister has my full support, and I strongly encourage colleagues to do the same,” Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, one of the front runners to succeed Johnson said.
Toppling Johnson now would be “indefensible,” according to Cabinet minister Steve Barclay, a Johnson loyalist.
He said on the Conservative Home website, “The difficulties we face aren’t easy to fix.” “However, under Boris Johnson’s leadership, our employment strategy demonstrates how we are addressing these global concerns.”
“To stymie that progress now would be unforgivable to those who voted for us for the first time in the recent general election, and who want to see our Prime Minister deliver the changes promised to their communities,” he continued.
