Prime Minister Johnson wins parliamentary ballot by 63-vote margin, but 148 MPs still voted to show him the door, casting a shadow over his leadership
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday night survived a leadership challenge by beating back a no-confidence vote from his own Conservative Party.
Johnson got the support of 211 Tory MPs, with 148 voting against him in a ballot triggered in the morning with an announcement from the 1922 Committee, as the Conservatives’ parliamentary group in the House of Commons is known.
The vote on Johnson’s leadership came after letters from rebel MPs crossed the threshold of 54 – a number corresponding the 15% of the total Conservative lawmakers – and reached Sir Graham Brady, the committee chair.
However, despite winning the vote, Johnson was dealt a major blow to his leadership, with 148 of his own MPs saying that they want a new leader for the ruling party.
For months Johnson has faced withering criticism over parties at No. 10 Downing Street during the COVID-19 lockdown, and the party’s poor performance in the May 5 local elections also raised eyebrows, triggering speculation that it may lose the next general election under his leadership.
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