Boris Johnson will face a no-confidence vote Monday night after reaching the threshold of 54 letters from Conservative MPs calling for his departure.
In a statement, Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Representatives representing the Conservatives of the rear bank, said that the threshold of 15% of MPs calling for a vote of confidence, totaling 54, “has been exceeded”.
“According to the rules, a vote will be held today, Monday, June 6, between 6:00 pm and 2000,” he continued. “The votes will be counted immediately afterwards. An announcement will be made at the time of being informed. Agreements for the announcement will be announced later today. “
To stay in office, Johnson must win the support of at least 50% of all Conservative MPs plus one, for a total of 180. If he wins, he is theoretically waiting for this challenge for a year. , although the rules may change.
Asked about it on Monday, Brady confirmed to reporters that this was the case: “It’s technically possible to change the rules, but the rule right now is that there would be a grace period.”
Brady reportedly called number 10 before the announcement and contacted the time of any vote. The fact that it takes place so quickly is likely to be the election of Downing Street, in the hope that disparate rebel groups will not be able to coordinate or campaign.
A No. 10 spokesman said: “Tonight is an opportunity to end months of speculation and allow the government to draw a line and move forward, meeting the people’s priorities.
“The Prime Minister is grateful for the opportunity to present his case to parliamentarians and will remind them that when they are united and focus on issues that matter to voters, there is no more formidable political force.”
In a show of immediate support, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who is widely assumed to be a candidate if Johnson goes, tweeted: “The Prime Minister has my 100% support in today’s vote. and I strongly encourage colleagues to support him … he apologized for the mistakes he made. Now we need to focus on economic growth. “
Conservative MPs opposed to Johnson were confident they had breached the 54-letter mark, but are still unsure whether they would win a vote of confidence. It is done personally but as a secret ballot.
Sajid Javid, the health secretary, sent Monday to the broadcast round for the government, promising that Johnson “would stand and fight his corner” if he faced a vote of confidence.
“If this 54-letter threshold is reached, there will be a vote of confidence and, in this case, there should be one. “There may be one,” Javid told Sky News before the confirmation of the vote. . So we look forward to seeing what happens. “
Just before the vote was announced, another former minister, Jesse Norman, issued a letter of condemnation saying he had also sent a letter.
Johnson had “presided over a culture of casual offense at 10 Downing Street in relation to Covid,” said Norman, a former Treasury Secretary. For Johnson, describing himself as vindicated by last week’s Sue Gray report was “grotesque.”
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Failure to comply with the Northern Ireland Protocol “would be economically very harmful, politically reckless and almost certainly illegal,” Norman wrote, while the policy of deporting asylum seekers to Rwandan politics was “ugly, probably counterproductive and of dubious illegality. “
Johnson showed no purpose, Norman argued, “Rather, simply seek to campaign, keep changing the subject, and create political and cultural dividing lines primarily to your advantage.”
In the week and a half since the Gray report on the 10th party was published, many Conservative MPs have gone from not expecting a vote of confidence against Johnson to the aftermath of two crucial by-elections on June 23, as very soon, to be almost sure he would. will be held this week.
In a previous vote in December 2018, Theresa May won by 200 votes to 117, but the fact that more than a third of her deputies opposed forced May to set a timetable for her departure in just five months. after.