LONDON (AP) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face a censure vote on Monday that could oust him from power, as discontent with his government ultimately threatens to overthrow a politician who often seemed invincible despite many scandals.
The charismatic leader known for his ability to connect with voters has recently struggled to turn the page on revelations that he and his staff repeatedly held alcohol parties ignoring COVID-19 restrictions on others.
Still, without a clear favorite to succeed Johnson, most political observers think he will defeat the challenge and remain prime minister. But the fact that enough lawmakers are demanding a vote represents a crucial moment for him, and a limited victory would leave him with an obstructed leader the days are probably numbered. It is also a sign of deep conservative divisions, less than three years after Johnson led the party to its biggest election victory in decades.
Since then, Johnson has pushed the UK out of the European Union and through a pandemic, which has shaken the UK socially and economically. The vote comes as the Johnson administration is under intense pressure to ease the pain of soaring energy and food bills.
Conservative leader Graham Brady announced on Monday that he had received letters calling for a vote of censure from at least 54 Conservative lawmakers, enough to activate the measure under party rules. He said the vote would take place in the House of Commons on Monday evening, with the result announced shortly afterwards.
To continue in office, Johnson must win the support of a simple majority of the 359 Conservative lawmakers. If not, the party will choose a new leader, who will also become prime minister.
Johnson’s office on Downing Street said the prime minister welcomed the vote as “an opportunity to end months of speculation and allow the government to draw a line and move forward, meeting the people’s priorities.”
The discontent that has been generated for months erupted after a 10-day parliamentary break that included a long weekend of celebrations for the platinum jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. For many, the four-day vacation was an opportunity to relax, but there was no respite for Johnson, who was booed by some spectators when he arrived on Friday for a service in honor of the Queen at the St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Brady said some lawmakers who sent letters of censure had called for them to be detained until after the jubilee weekend.
Previous prime ministers who survived the censure vote came out very weak. Theresa May, for example, won one in 2018, but never regained her authority and resigned in a few months, sparking a leadership contest that Johnson won.
His selection in July 2019 culminated in a roller coaster trip to the summit. He had held important positions, including the Mayor of London and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom, but also spent periods outside politics after self-inflicted glasses. He continued to recover, showing an unusual ability to ignore the scandal and connect with voters who, for many conservatives, overshadowed doubts about his ethics or judgment.
But concerns reached their climax after a report by an investigator late last month criticized a culture of non-compliance in the prime minister’s office in a scandal known as “partygate”.
Civil Service researcher Sue Gray described alcohol-related crashes by Downing Street staff members in 2020 and 2021, when pandemic restrictions prevented UK residents from socializing or even visiting dying relatives.
Gray said the “senior leadership team” must take responsibility for the “failed leadership and judgment.”
Johnson was also fined £ 50 ($ 63) by police for attending a party, making him the prime minister sanctioned for breaking the law while in office.
The prime minister said he was “humble” and assumed “full responsibility”, but insisted he would not resign. He urged the British to “move on” and focus on tidying up the battered economy and helping Ukraine defend itself from a Russian invasion.
But a growing number of Conservatives believe Johnson is now a responsibility that will condemn them to defeat in the next election, which is due in 2024.
“Today’s decision is to change or lose,” said Jeremy Hunt, who ran against Johnson for Conservative leadership in 2019, but has largely refrained from criticizing him since. “I will vote for change.”
Lawmaker Jesse Norman, a longtime Johnson supporter, said Monday that the prime minister had “presided over a culture of accidental breaking the law” and had left the government “adrift and distracted.”
“I’m afraid I don’t see any circumstances in which I can serve in a government led by you,” Norman wrote in a letter posted on social media.
Another Conservative lawmaker, John Penrose, resigned on Monday as the prime minister’s “anti-corruption champion”, saying Johnson had breached the government’s code of conduct with the behavior revealed by Partygate.
But senior ministers offered messages of support to Johnson, including some likely to run in the Conservative leadership contest that would be triggered if he was fired.
“The Prime Minister has my full support in today’s vote and I strongly encourage his colleagues to support him,” Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, one of the favorites to succeed, wrote in a tweet. Johnson.
If he wins Monday’s vote, Johnson is likely to face more pressure. The war in Ukraine, a slow fire after Brexit with the EU and rising inflation are weighing on the government, and the Conservatives could lose special elections later this month for two parliamentary districts, convened when Conservative lawmakers in functions they were forced by sex scandals. .
Johnson tried to focus on these broader issues, noting that on Monday he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He has been a vocal advocate for the cause of Ukraine, a position shared by his potential successors.
Cabinet Secretary Steve Barclay, an ally of Johnson, said overthrowing the leader would now be “indefensible.”
“The issues we face are not easy to solve,” but Conservatives have the right plan to address them, he wrote on the Conservative Home website.
“Disrupting this progress now would be inexcusable for many who voted for us for the first time in the last general election and who want to see our Prime Minister fulfill the promised changes for their communities.”