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Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face a confidence motion later on Monday after a growing number of Conservative Party lawmakers questioned the British leader’s authority in the aftermath of the “partygate” scandal. PM Johnson, who was appointed prime minister in 2019, has been under increasing pressure as he has been unable to move on from a report that documented alcohol-fueled parties at the heart of power while Britain was under strict lockdown to combat COVID-19.
Jesse Norman, a loyalist who served as a junior minister in the finance ministry in both 2019 and 2021, said the prime minister remaining in power insulted both the electorate and the party in a stinging attack on the once seemingly unassailable Johnson.
He is one of several Conservative lawmakers who have expressed concern that Johnson, 57, has lost his ability to rule Britain, which is facing the risk of recession, rising prices, and strike-inflicted travel chaos in London.
“The threshold of 15% of the Conservative Party’s parliamentary party seeking a vote of confidence in the Conservative Party’s leader has been exceeded,” Graham Brady, chairman of the party’s 1922 Committee, which represents rank-and-file Conservative lawmakers, wrote in a note.
Brady stated that the vote would take place on Monday between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. (1700-1900 GMT).
“The votes will be counted directly following that. An announcement will be made at a later date “Brady stated.
The vote, according to a spokesperson for Prime Minister Johnson’s Downing Street office, is “a chance to end months of supposition and allow the government to draw lines and move on, delivering on the people’s priorities.”
“The Prime Minister welcomes the opportunities to make his case to MPs (members of parliament) and will reassure them that there is no more formidable political force when they are united and focused on the issues that matter to voters.”
For Johnson to be removed, a majority of Conservative lawmakers, or 180, would have to vote against him, which some Conservatives believe will be difficult to achieve. If passed, a leadership election would be held to determine his replacement.
Johnson and his government have urged lawmakers to move on since the release of the damning report into the so-called “partygate” scandal, which detailed fights and alcohol-induced vomiting at lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street.
