UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face a vote of confidence later on Monday amid growing discontent with his leadership.
To hold a vote of confidence, 15% of Conservative lawmakers (or 54 of the 360 current Tory members) would have to write letters to Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 committee that oversees challenges to the party’s leadership.
On Monday, Brady announced that the threshold had been crossed.
Voting will take place on Monday evening local time, between 6pm and 8pm London time (1pm and 3pm ET).
Last month’s report In many prominent personalities COVID-19 Lockdown-breaking parties were released at Johnson’s office and headquarters, prompting calls for a vote of confidence.
Shortly after the confidence vote was announced, a Downing Street spokesperson issued a short statement saying tonight’s vote was “an opportunity to end months of speculation and allow the government to put an end to and move forward, implementing the people’s priorities”. reported the news.
The statement added that the prime minister welcomed the opportunity to present his case to the deputies, and “will remind them that when they unite and focus on issues of concern to the electorate, there will be no tremendous political power.”
Some senior conservative lawmakers have already thrown their support behind the prime minister. Secretary of State Liz Truss tweeted on Monday that Johnson had “100% support” in the vote.
“He made a recovery from COVID-19 and supported Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. He apologized for the mistakes that were made. We must now focus on economic growth,” she said.
If Johnson wins the vote, he will be protected from another vote of confidence for another 12 months, although there are reports that these rules could be changed.
If Johnson loses the vote, he will be forced to step down and start a contest for leadership of the Conservative Party. In that eventuality, Johnson, as the deposed leader, would not be allowed to stand.
Johnson could also resign on his own, but despite previous grumbling among Tory MPs about Johnson’s colorful and often controversial leadership, he has shown no signs of intending to do so.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated soon
