Key Points
- Boris Johnson is to face a vote of no-confidence by MPs in his Conservative party.
- 180 Conservative MPs would have to vote against Mr Johnson for him to be removed
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face a confidence vote after a growing number of lawmakers in the governing Conservative Party questioned the British leader's flagging authority following the "partygate" scandal.
Mr Johnson, appointed prime minister in 2019, has been under growing pressure, unable to move on from a report that documented alcohol-fuelled parties at the heart of power when Britain was under strict lockdowns to tackle COVID-19.
In a searing attack on the once seemingly unassailable Mr Johnson, Jesse Norman, a loyalist who served as a junior minister in the finance ministry between 2019 and 2021, said the prime minister staying in power insulted both the electorate and the party.
He is just one of several Conservative lawmakers who have voiced concern over whether Mr Johnson, 57, has lost his authority to govern Britain, which is facing the risk of recession, rising prices and strike-inflicted travel chaos in the capital London.
"The threshold of 15 per cent of the parliamentary party seeking a vote of confidence in the leader of the Conservative Party has been exceeded," Graham Brady, chairman of the party's 1922 Committee that represents rank-and-file Conservative lawmakers, wrote in a note on Monday.
Mr Brady said a vote would be held between 6pm and 8pm on Monday.
"The votes will be counted immediately afterwards. An announcement will be made at a time to be advised," Brady said.
A spokesperson for Mr Johnson's Downing Street office said the vote was "a chance to end months of speculation and allow the government to draw a line and move on, delivering on the people's priorities".
"The PM welcomes the opportunity to make his case to MPs and will remind them that when they're united and focused on the issues that matter to voters there is no more formidable political force."
A majority of Conservative lawmakers — or 180 — would have to vote against Mr Johnson for him to be removed; a level some Conservatives say might be difficult to reach. If passed, there would then be a leadership contest to decide his replacement.
Since the release of the damning report into the so-called "partygate" scandal, which listed fights and alcohol-induced vomiting at lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street, Mr Johnson and his government had urged lawmakers to move on.
But many returned to their constituencies, or voting regions, last week to find a chorus of complaints over Mr Johnson's behaviour. The prime minister was also jeered and booed by the public at Platinum Jubilee celebrations for the Queen at the weekend, although there were some cheers for him.
Finance minister Rishi Sunak said he backed Mr Johnson's leadership ahead of the confidence vote.
"From the vaccine roll-out to our response to Russian aggression, the PM has shown the strong leadership our country needs," Mr Sunak said on Twitter.
"I am backing him today and will continue to back him as we focus on growing the economy, tackling the cost of living and clearing the COVID backlogs."
But in perhaps the biggest sign that criticism of Mr Johnson has spread beyond a vocal group of so-called rebels, Mr Norman listed his complaints of the British leader's behaviour and also of what he described as a lack of "mission".
"People are crying out for good government ... neither the Conservative Party nor this country can afford to squander the next two years adrift and distracted by endless debate about you and your leadership," he wrote in a letter published on Twitter.
"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; it makes a decisive change of government at the next election much more likely. That is potentially catastrophic for this country."
