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“Partygate” affair: Up to 20 Tory MPs apparently want to express their distrust in Boris Johnson

2022-01-19T01:00:39.307Z


'His time is up': According to one report, Boris Johnson could soon face a no-confidence vote. Even in his own party, his support is dwindling rapidly.


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Boris Johnson leaving the seat of government at 10 Downing Street

Photo: TOLGA AKMEN / AFP

According to media reports, the party's internal rebellion against British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is spreading massively.

Up to 20 Tory MPs wanted to issue letters of no confidence on Wednesday, the well-connected Daily Telegraph editor Christopher Hope wrote on Twitter on Tuesday evening.

In order to bring about a vote of confidence in the Prime Minister, 54 of the 360 ​​Conservative MPs in Parliament must vote no confidence in him.

According to Hope, this necessary number could be exceeded with Wednesday's letters.

"His time is up," Hope quoted one MP as saying.

Reporters from other media, usually well-informed, corroborated the information;

including staff from Sky News, the BBC and ITV News.

The Guardian also reported that the mood within the Tory party had recently deteriorated drastically.

There is now open discussion about how to get rid of Johnson as prime minister.

According to the report, the debate about his successor has already begun.

The Guardian quotes several Tory MPs, who are not named.

The newspaper's front page on Wednesday read: 'Calls for Johnson ouster grow louder as Tory MPs plan confidence vote'.

There would be a vote of confidence if 15 percent of the 360 ​​Conservative MPs - those 54 MPs - express their distrust in Johnson.

In a secret ballot in the parliamentary group, the prime minister would then have to get at least 50 percent of the members on his side in order to survive the vote.

So far, only seven MPs have publicly voiced their distrust in the prime minister, but something bigger seems to be brewing behind the scenes.

Johnson is also under considerable pressure in his own ranks because of parties in his office in the middle of the corona lockdown.

His reputation among the population and the party is already considered to be badly damaged.

There have already been calls for his resignation, including from conservatives.

On Tuesday, Johnson denied allegations by his former chief adviser Dominic Cummings that he lied about the Partygate affair.

“Certainly no one” drew his attention to the fact that an event in May 2020 in the garden of his office could violate the corona requirements in force at the time, Johnson asserted in an interview with the Sky News broadcaster.

He also said again that he had assumed a working meeting.

When asked about demands for his resignation, Johnson replied that the result of an internal investigation had to be awaited first.

The Sue Gray report is expected to be released next week.

Cummings had accused Johnson of lying in Parliament when he denied any knowledge of lockdown parties at government headquarters.

Cummings also said he had warned Johnson in advance that the event was a breach of lockdown rules.

He and one other person are even willing to testify under oath.

Video of Johnson's appearance in Parliament (January 12): "I'm sorry, I'm very sorry"

Johnson has been fighting for office for weeks.

On Wednesday, as requested by conservative hardliners, he wants to announce that he will lift some corona rules that he reintroduced just before Christmas due to the spread of the Omicron variant.

These include the requirement to work from home if possible and the submission of vaccination certificates to participate in larger events, as the BBC reported.

The mask requirement in shops and local public transport should therefore end.

aar/Reuters/dpa

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-01-19

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