LONDON (AP) – Britain’s governing Conservatives will hold a no-confidence vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday that could oust him as Britain’s leader.
Party official Graham Brady says he has received enough letters from lawmakers calling for a vote on Johnson’s leadership. That’s when 54 Tory MPs – 15% of the party’s group in the House of Commons – write to Brady.
“The 15% threshold has been exceeded,” Brady said. He said voting would take place in person in the House of Commons on Monday evening.
If Johnson loses the vote among 359 Conservative lawmakers, he will be replaced as Conservative leader and prime minister. If he wins, he won’t have to face another challenge for a year.
Johnson has been struggling to turn a page over months of ethical scandals, particularly over rule-breaking parties in government buildings during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Johnson’s Downing Street office said the prime minister welcomed the vote. It said, “Tonight is a chance to end months of speculation and let the government draw a line and move forward to meet the priorities of the people.”
An anti-Conservative Party protester holds a placard with a picture of Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson with ‘Now Partygate’ on December 8, 2021 in London.
Late last month an investigator’s report known as “Partygate” denounced the rule-breaking culture inside the prime minister’s No. 10 Downing St. office.
Civil Service investigator Sue Gray describes alcohol-fueled fundraisers organized by Downing Street staff in 2020 and 2021, when pandemic restrictions prevented UK residents from socializing or even visiting relatives who died.
Gray said the “senior leadership team” should take responsibility for “failures of leadership and judgment”.
The prime minister said he was “humble” and took “full responsibility” – but insisted it was time to “move forward” and focus on Britain’s battered economy and the war in Ukraine.
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s wife Kerry Johnson (L), Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson (center left) and Britain’s main opposition Labor Party leader Keir Starmer (R) as part of the Queen on June 5, 2022 Participate in the Platinum Pageant in London. Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations (Hannah McKay / Poole / AFP)
But a growing number of Conservatives feel that Johnson, the charismatic leader who won them a massive parliamentary majority in 2019, now has an obligation.
If Johnson is ousted it would lead to a Conservative leadership contest, in which several key government ministers are likely to participate.
Johnson’s critic, Conservative MP Roger Gale, said, “We have some really good options for prime minister, so we’re not short of options. I think any one of those people is a better one than the other at the time.” could make the prime minister,” he told the BBC.
Discontent appears to have grown over the parliamentary break that coincides with the celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. For many, the four-day long weekend was a chance to rest – but was no respite for Johnson, who arrived at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday for a service in honor of the Queen, cheered by some onlookers.
WATCH: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie were met with boos and cheers from large crowds of royal fans waiting outside St Paul’s Cathedral in London to serve Thanksgiving for Queen Elizabeth. #platinum jubilee https://t.co/eKPLVXa2gs pic.twitter.com/d0Ytrzk9B4
— Reuters Asia (@ReutersAsia) 4 June 2022
Johnson’s aide, Cabinet Minister Steve Barkley, said toppling the leader would now be “inevitable”.
“The problems we face are not easy to solve,” he wrote on the Conservative Home website. “Democracies around the world are currently facing similar challenges. But under Boris Johnson’s leadership, our plans for jobs reflect how we are tackling these global challenges.”
“To impede that progress would now be unforgivable for the many people who voted for us in the first general election,” Barkley said, “and who want our prime minister to deliver on the changes he has made for their communities.” Huh.
