Boris Johnson is saved from being removed from office after motion of censure

Threatened for months by this scandal, known as “partygate”, from which for a time it seemed to have been saved thanks to the change of focus due to the war in Ukraine, the controversial British leader faced the verdict of the deputies of his conservative majority.

At least 54 of them had requested an internal vote of confidence, which was not activated until Monday, once the “platinum jubilee” was over, the four days of great national celebrations for the 70 years of the reign of Elizabeth II.

But only 148 of the 359 Conservative MPs voted against the prime minister, who received 211 support. Earlier, Johnson, 57, known for his talent for political escapism, had addressed his ranks, behind closed doors in a chamber of parliament in Westminster, to try to seduce them.

(You may be interested in: Boris Johnson assures that he will not resign after the ‘Partygate’ scandal)

“It has been said on many occasions that I was finished. I can rebuild trust. Stop talking about Westminster and start talking about the people who sent us here,” he was quoted as saying by one of the attendees.

“Tonight’s prize is huge (…) the best is yet to come,” he added, according to the same source, hinting at an upcoming tax cut, a very popular measure at a time of soaring inflation that is strangling many incapable families. to reach the end of the month.

The beginning of the end

According to a YouGov flash poll of 506 Conservative Party members, 42% wanted MPs to remove Johnson and 53% to keep him.

Since he has emerged victorious, they will not be able to attempt another internal vote of confidence for a year. However, the high number of deputies who spoke out against him leaves him quite weakened.

“History tells us this is the beginning of the end,” opposition Labor leader Keir Starmer told LBC radio.

(You can read: ‘Partygate’, the scandal that continues to hit Boris Johnson)

“If you look at previous examples of votes of confidence, even when Conservative prime ministers survived (…) the damage is already done and they usually fall reasonably quickly,” he stressed, recalling the cases of Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.

Soon a parliamentary commission must investigate whether Johnson knowingly lied to the House of Commons when he assured in December that there were no parties in his offices and that no anticovid rules were breached.

According to the official code of conduct, misleading parliament is grounds for resignation and if it is proven that he did so he would have a hard time resisting pressure from the opposition and from his own ranks.

The Conservative Party has been historically ruthless with its leaders losing electoral appeal — including Thatcher — and Johnson coming to power in 2019 when the greatly weakened Theresa May was forced to resign despite winning a vote of confidence. , he knows.

(Also: New photos of Boris Johnson revealed during the ‘Partygate’ parties)

booed by the crowd

The promise of carrying out a Brexit that seemed impossible triumphantly boosted
Johnson to the post he had coveted all his life, but now, considered a “liar” by a majority of Britons, he is seeing his popularity slip and was booed by the crowd at a Queen’s Jubilee event last week.

For some time, the lack of an obvious successor played in his favor. But an internal report on the “partygate”, published on May 25, blamed the multiple violations of the anticovid rules on the “senior officials involved”. And it reignited the anger of the conservative rebels against their leader.

Johnson, who only received a fine for having participated in a party for his 56th birthday, apologized, assuring that it had “not occurred to him” that the brief encounter “could constitute a violation of the rules”.

And he rejected calls to resign from the opposition and some of its deputies, assuring that he had to go ahead with “priorities” such as the war in Ukraine and the growing crisis over the cost of living.

But he did not convince many, such as John Penrose, his “anti-corruption czar” who resigned on Monday, considering it “pretty clear that (Johnson) broke” the official code of conduct and that he too should go.

*With information from AFP

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