British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has survived a vote of confidence from within his own
Conservative political party.
The vote saw Johnson win the backing of most Conservative lawmakers, but by a much slimmer
margin than his supporters had hoped. A total of 211 Conservative Members of Parliament
voted in favour of the prime minister, while 148 elected officials voted against him.
Johnson needed a simple majority of 180 votes to remain leader of the Conservative Party and
prime minister. But the 148 votes against him was worse than political observers expected and
means that over 40% of his own party have no confidence in his leadership.
Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, had more support in a similar vote held in 2018 but
resigned as British prime minister just six months later.
The Conservative Party will be scrutinizing public sentiment towards Johnson to gauge whether
he is the right leader to take the party into the next general election, which has to take place
before January 2025.
Party rules state that Johnson, having survived the confidence vote, cannot face another vote of
confidence for 12 months. While Johnson has shown no signs of being willing to resign, political
analysts say his leadership looks vulnerable following the vote.
Related Stories
