Johnson survives confidence vote

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a vote of confidence in his leadership, as 211 Conservative Party members of Parliament voted in favour of him staying on as their leader. It rounded off a frenzied day of political high drama and speculation as Johnson, 57, made personal pleas to his party backbenchers to keep their faith in him as Prime Minister, despite the bruising partygate scandal of COVID law-breaking parties at Downing Street and across government offices.

The vote is held as a secret ballot, with 180 being the cut off for Johnson to win the challenge – given the halfway mark of the Tory parliamentary party membership of 359 if abstentions are not taken into account. His allies had been keen to stress that a victory in the contest, even by just one vote, would put a rest to an issue that has overshadowed the government’s focus on other pressing political concerns. ‘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,’ the Downing Street said in a statement.

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