Boris Johnson was clinging to his post as prime minister on Monday night after 148 of his MPs voted to oust him from Downing Street in a vote that exposed potentially fatal fractures within his party.
The Prime Minister won the support of 211 MPs, but 41% of his party voted to get rid of him, and many cited his lack of remorse over the Partygate scandal and the loss of public confidence. in their leadership. It was the worst verdict on an incumbent prime minister by his own party in recent times.
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Although Johnson and his allies called the vote a victory, many Conservative MPs, including some of his supporters, believe the coup attempt is the beginning of the end of his three-year term.
With so many members of his party voting against, the prime minister has effectively lost his majority support in parliament, with the risk of his government being paralyzed.
Johnson is theoretically safe from another one-year leadership challenge under the 1922 Committee rules, but Theresa May was forced to step down just six months after winning a no-confidence vote. having suffered terminal damage despite winning by 200 votes to 117.
The proportion of MPs who voted against Johnson is 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 it was an “extremely good, positive, conclusive and decisive result” that would allow him to “move on to join and focus on delivery.” He also claimed that he had “won a much bigger term” from his peers than he did in the 2019 leadership election, although critics questioned that claim. Johnson also declined to rule out holding early elections, though he said he was “not interested” in the idea.
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Nadhim Zahawi claimed Johnson had “won a lot” and hoped the result would “mark a line under all media and Twitterati speculation”, leading to a “united party”.
The Secretary of Education also stated that Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the President of Ukraine, would be “focusing the air” on the outcome.
James Cleverly, the Secretary of State, said it was a “comfortable” and “clear” victory for Johnson, while Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant said the result was “much better” than temia.
However, rebel MPs said Johnson should resign for the good of the party and the country. Sir Roger Gale, one of Johnson’s top critics, said an “honorary prime minister” should realize that he had lost the support of a sizable number of his MPs. He suggested that the rebels continue to oppose Johnson remaining prime minister.
The scale of the rebellion means that some government ministers and aides must have voted against Johnson in the secret ballot, although they remain publicly in favor.
A former cabinet minister said he believed Johnson could soon face other attempts to oust him if the Conservatives lose in two by-elections on June 23, or if a parliamentary inquiry determines that the prime minister has deceived the House of Commons. Common. “The role of the whip in the head will be key,” he said. “It would be his job to tell the prime minister that he has lost his cabinet.”
Keir Starmer, the Labor leader, said the Conservative Party “believes the British public now has no right to expect honest politicians”, while Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, said the Conservative MPs “voted limited to keeping an offender and a liar in the No “. 10 ”.
The vote of confidence was activated on Monday morning after more than 54 Conservative MPs – 15% of the total – sent letters of censure to Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee representing MPs.
Johnson had embarked on a last-minute bid to win over his colleagues, but several Conservative lawmakers said they were surprised by the lack of effort put into the operation.
The rebels started the day thinking that Johnson would surely win the vote convincingly, but they became increasingly emboldened after the resignation of John Penrose as the 10th anti-corruption tsar and a critical statement from Jeremy Hunt, a possible candidate for leadership. .
“Anyone who believes that our country is stronger, fairer and more prosperous when it is led by the Conservatives should think that the consequence of not changing is to hand over the country to others who do not share these values. Today’s decision is to change or lose. I will vote for change, “Hunt said.
Announcing his resignation, Penrose asked Johnson to step down as well, accusing the prime minister of not addressing the “broadest and most serious criticism” contained in Sue Gray’s report on the Downing Street party.
He said the only fair conclusion to be drawn from Gray’s report was “that you have violated a fundamental principle of the ministerial code: a clear issue of resignation.”
Jesse Norman, a former Treasury minister, also issued a heartfelt letter saying Johnson had “presided over a culture of casual offense at 10 Downing Street in relation to Covid.” For Johnson, describing himself as vindicated by last month’s Gray report was “grotesque,” he said, adding that violating the Northern Ireland protocol would be “reckless and almost certainly illegal.” policy of deporting asylum seekers to Rwandan politics was “ugly”. ”.
A number of Scottish Conservative MPs, including leader Douglas Ross and John Lamont, who resigned as a ministerial aide, also said they had voted against Johnson.
Some MPs tightened their resolve against the Prime Minister after delivering a defiant speech to the 1922 Committee on Monday afternoon, suggesting that he would make the same decision again regarding the retention of two at number 10 during the blockade.
He also blamed the “media focus on the Conservative Party leadership” and tried to turn the Brexit debate into a vote against leading to a “hellish groundhog day” over the reintegration into the single market. the EU.
“We refuse to dance to the sleep of the media, we refuse to gratify our opponents by surrendering ourselves,” he said. “We show this country that we understand that this is a time to unite and serve. If we can do it, believe me, whatever they say about me, I will lead you back to victory and the winners will be the people of this country. “
Following the meeting, a Conservative sources briefing in support of the Prime Minister also downplayed the importance of the Partygate fury that has infuriated the public. “Is there anyone here who hasn’t been angry with their lives? Is there anyone here who doesn’t like a glass of wine to decompress? ” they said.
But one of the first MPs to leave the meeting, Brexit archer Steve Baker, had a very different view. He told reporters it was “a very, very sad day,” but he felt he had no choice but to vote against the prime minister.
“For me, even though this is an incredibly difficult time, I can’t overcome the requirement to have a law-abiding culture at the head of the government,” he said. “I told the prime minister that if he broke the law he would have to go, he clearly broke the law, he clearly agreed to break the law, and so I have to keep my word.”