British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a no-confidence vote from his own party on Monday, The Washington Post reports.
Johnson’s Conservative Party announced that it had reached a 15% threshold of 54 no-confidence letters to trigger a vote in Parliament after Johnson faced months of investigations over Downing Street parties that violated COVID lockdown measures.
Johnson needs a majority of his party, 180 members, to support him to keep his job.
Analysts expect Johnson to survive but the vote could be dangerously close. If Johnson survives, he would not face a similar vote for the next year unless Parliament changes its rules.
Former Prime Minister Theresa May also survived a no-confidence vote before resigning the following year.
Conservatives turn:
Former Johnson ally Jesse Norman slammed Johnson over a “culture of casual lawbreaking” at Downing Street.
“For you to prolong this charade by remaining in office not only insults the electorate, and the tens of thousands of people who support, volunteer, represent and campaign for our party,” he wrote. “it makes a decisive change of government at the next election more likely.”
Former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt also said he would be “voting for change.”
“Having been trusted with power, Conservative MPs know in our hearts we are not giving the British people the leadership they deserve. We are not offering the integrity, competence and vision necessary to unleash the enormous potential of our country,” he said.
“And because we are no longer trusted by the electorate, who know this too, we are set to lose the next general election.”
Johnson pushes back:
Johnson in a message to lawmakers acknowledged that he had courted scandal.
“I have come under a great deal of fire, and I know that experience has been painful for the whole party,” he wrote. “Some of that criticism has perhaps been fair, some less so.”
Johnson’s office said that the prime minister welcomes the vote.
"Tonight is a chance to end months of speculation and allow the government to draw a line and move on, delivering on the people's priorities," it said.
