Boris Johnson survives no-confidence vote: result is seen as a serious defeat

Created: 07/06/2022, 09:10

By: Stephanie Munk

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced a no-confidence vote by his Conservative Party on Monday.

Reason: A number of lockdown parties in Downing Street.

Update from June 6, 10:01 p.m .:

The vote of no confidence against Boris Johnson failed.

The conservative party has expressed its confidence in the prime minister.

211 MPs voted for him, 148 MPs voted against Johnson - it would have taken 180 votes against for Johnson's confidence to be officially withdrawn.

The result is still counted as a defeat in England.

Before the vote, 130 votes against had been traded as the magic limit.

At 148, the result is now well above this value and dangerously close to the 180 that would have been needed for a deselection.

Vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson: result expected at 10pm

Update from June 6, 9:53 p.m.:

The result of the vote of no confidence against British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to be announced at 10 p.m. (CET).

The BBC has now confirmed this again.

Johnson himself will be informed about the result shortly before the official announcement.

The voting and counting will be overseen by Sid Graham Brady, Chair of the 1922 Committee.

Update from June 6, 9:31 p.m

.: Does the 57-year-old have to resign as head of the Tories?

The party's internal vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Boris Johnson is currently under way in London

.

According to the BBC, the actual voting ended at 9 p.m.

Now the votes of the Tory MPs are counted.

The result is expected around 10 p.m. (CET).

At a meeting with MPs from his group in the afternoon, however, Johnson was optimistic.

This is reported by the AFP news agency from party circles.

He dismissed the doubts about his leadership role as media hype.

"I'm glad this vote is finally taking place," Johnson said.

Boris Johnson (2nd from right), Prime Minister of Great Britain, adjusts his tie during a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street.

© Daniel Leal/dpa

Because of the "Partygate" affair: vote of no confidence against Boris Johnson in his own party

First report from June 6

: London - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has come under heavy criticism for the "Partygate" affair, has to face a vote of no confidence from his Conservative Party.

The necessary number of applications - at least 54 - had been received from Tory MPs, said the head of the responsible party committee, Graham Brady, on Monday in London.

The necessary threshold of 15 percent of the 359 conservative parliamentarians was thus reached.

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Johnson can win the vote, which should take place between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. (local time) on Monday evening, and retain his office.

However, the vote alone is considered another heavy blow for the prime minister.

If a majority votes against Johnson, he will lose his position as prime minister for the time being.

No-confidence vote against Boris Johnson: Prime Minister sees it as an “opportunity”

Johnson himself commented through a spokeswoman on the upcoming vote of no confidence: He sees it as an opportunity to put the "Partygate" affair behind and welcomes the opportunity to face the vote of his Conservative Party MPs.

The vote is an opportunity for the government to "put an end to months of speculation and draw a line under it," Downing Street said.

Johnson has also come under heavy criticism from within his own ranks for a number of lockdown parties at his Downing Street official residence during the pandemic.

Johnson was fined for attending one of the celebrations.

This makes him the first incumbent British Prime Minister to break the law.

An investigation report accuses him and other people in charge of leadership failure and serious misconduct in complying with Corona rules.

The 57-year-old apologized several times in the House of Commons in London.

However, he refuses to resign.

Boris Johnson © Alberto Pezzali/AFP

Vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Johnson: the result should be available on Monday evening

To vote Johnson out of office, at least 180 MPs must vote against him in the no-confidence vote.

This is considered a high hurdle, especially as around 150 Tory MPs hold part-time government jobs that they could lose if Johnson were voted out.

In addition, experts point out that there is currently no real alternative to the prime minister, who is also considered the most important campaigner for the Conservative Party.

Under current party rules, if Johnson wins the vote, there can be no further attempt to unseat him for a year.

The result of the no-confidence vote should be announced after the vote on Monday evening.

Because of the Queen's jubilee, political life in Great Britain has largely rested in the past few days.

But during the celebrations, the prime minister was even booed