Boris Johnson wins no-confidence vote

New Delhi: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday survived the no-confidence vote, moved by the disgruntled lawmakers of his own Conservative party. With this, the prime minister secured his premiership, for now, marred by the party gate scandals and not doing enough for the post-Brexit economy amid the pandemic.

The prime minister won the support of 211 MPs but 41% of his party voted to get rid of him, with many citing his lack of repentance over the Partygate scandal and the public’s loss of trust in his leadership. It was the worst verdict on a sitting prime minister by their own party in recent times.

With so many of his party having voted against him, the prime minister has effectively lost his majority support in parliament, with the risk that his government is paralyzed.

Johnson is theoretically safe from another leadership challenge for a year under the rules of the 1922 Committee – but Theresa May was forced to leave office just six months after winning a confidence ballot, having been terminally damaged despite winning by 200 votes to 117.

The proportion of MPs who voted against Johnson is even greater than the votes against May in 2018 and Margaret Thatcher in 1990. Thatcher resigned a week later.

(Vinayak)