Boris Johnson will face a vote of confidence in his Conservative Party leadership after enough MPs have sent letters calling for a contest.
It will take place between 6pm and 8pm this evening in the House of Commons and an announcement is expected approximately one hour after the close of voting.
After months of speculation, it has been confirmed that at least 54 MPs – 15 per cent of Conservative MPs – have written to the chairman of the 1922 Conservative MP Committee, Sir Graham Brady, to call for a vote.
He said he notified the prime minister on Sunday that the threshold had been reached and that they had agreed on the voting times together.
The Prime Minister “appreciates the opportunity to present his case to parliamentarians”: live political update
Sir Graham said he would not disclose when the threshold had been reached or how many letters had been sent, but “it would not be a bad description” to say some MPs had called for his letters to be postdated to secure the platinum jubilee of the queen. the celebrations were not interrupted.
For the Prime Minister to be ousted, half of the Conservative MPs plus one would have to vote against him, who are currently 180 MPs.
A Downing Street 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.”
Conservative whips will now meet with the prime minister and try to rally MPs to support him in this evening’s vote.
Read more: How do you vote for a censorship and remove the Prime Minister?
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0:33 PM’s vote of confidence announced
The letters came after a period of sustained pressure on the Prime Minister over revelations of the party of events that broke the blockade on Downing Street and Whitehall, for which Mr Johnson was once fined.
Following the release of the full report by senior official Sue Gray on the doorstep of the party, there has been an increase in Conservative MPs calling for the departure of the Prime Minister.
His findings pushed enough MPs to send letters, and the prime minister now faces a vote in his leadership just under two-and-a-half years after gaining the largest Conservative majority since the 1980s.
Johnson’s faithful gather around the PM
Moments after Sir Graham announced that a no-confidence vote would be held, MPs loyal to Johnson have expressed their support.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said he would not be “skinny now”, while his boss, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, said the prime minister had my “100% support”. “.
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said “the Prime Minister has my full support for today’s vote”.
Simon Clarke, chief secretary of the treasury, said the prime minister had shown “real leadership” and that it was “very clear” that only Mr. Johnson won the 2019 election.
How voting will work
Johnson will have to get the support of half of his deputies plus one to survive: 180 votes.
The Prime Minister has an open invitation to speak with the 1922 Committee but it is not known if he will do so.
If he wins, he will remain as party leader and prime minister and will be immune to another such challenge for a year.
But if he loses, there will be a contest to elect a new party leader and prime minister, with a ban on Mr. Johnson to introduce himself.
However, after Theresa May survived a vote of confidence in 2018, with two-thirds of MPs supporting her. But just five months later he resigned after continuing to fight his own MPs for Brexit.