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Live News: Boris Johnson survives 211 to 148

By Peter McLaren-Kennedy • Updated: 06 Jun 2022 • 22:23

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Boris Johnson survives with a small majority putting in question his ability to continue leading with any confidence.

The margin is much smaller than his supporters suggested would be the case and it is a significantly worse performance than his predecessor Theresa May. With 41 per cent of his MPs saying they no longer have confidence in his leadership, his ability to drive policy could prove difficult.

His supporters however are happy with the result although they expected a larger majority according to some of his supporters. Ministers have downplayed the number who voted to remove him from office saying a majority is a majority and it’s time to move on with their agenda.

What remains to be seen is how the general public will react with earlier polls suggesting the majority of voters would like to have seen him either do the honourable thing and resign, or MPs to have brought his leadership to an end by voting against his continued leadership.

Tomorrow could be a very interesting day indeed with the possibility of a cabinet reshuffle, certainly some posts to fill following today’s resignations, renewed policies and major announcements as the prime minister seeks to move on. Question is, will the population, the opposition and those who voted against him allow him to do so.

For many, this is not over.

The results of the no-confidence vote will be made known shortly after 9 pm GMT.

Johnson supporters remain confident that he will survive the vote, however many are saying even if he does the writing is on the wall. The rules state that should he win that he will not have to face another any confidence vote for another year, so there is a lot to play for.

Watch the live vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson as Prime Minister

Opinion poll shows that 59% of the public think MPs should vote to remove Johnson tonight

Market research and insight agency Opinium conducted a poll on June 6 the results of which show that 59 per cent of the public believe that Johnson should be removed from office.

A whopping 71 per cent said that the prime minister was “untrustworthy” and “out of touch” while two-thirds said he was incompetent.  More than half the respondents said he was “dislikeable” and 58% think he is “weak”.

Perhaps more crucially is that 52 per cent believe the Conservative leader should step down from his position immediately if he loses the vote, while 37 per cent think he should continue until a new leader is found.

More than a third of those who identified themselves as Conservative voters said it was time for him to go but just over half felt he should stay.

It remains to be seen whether the research has any bearing on tonight’s vote, with many MPs still convinced that he is a vote winner.

June 6 12:57

A number of MPs have chosen to remain quiet ahead of the no-confidence vote tonight, choosing rather to focus on the positive events of the weekend.

Penny Mordaunt, who is a potential candidate for leader is one of those.

A blow for Johnson as Anti-Corruption Tsar resigns

John Penrose, the Conservative MP for Weston-super-Mare confirmed that he has resigned and that the cannot support Johnson, saying it is “pretty clear” that he has broken the Ministerial Code.

Speaking to Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby, he said: “If you break the ministerial code in a material way, it’s expected that you’ll resign.

“It’s pretty clear that one of the fundamental principles underlining the ministerial code which every minister, including the prime minister is expected to follow, is of leadership and integrity.

“Those are core as a part of the seven principles of public life. He’s broken both of those, or it seems very clear that he has.

“The Sue Gray report says so in terms. It says there are major problems with leadership. He hasn’t addressed that at all in his response.

“I think by that point it’s very clear that he has broken the ministerial code in a very material way, and at that point I’m afraid it’s normally a resignation matter for the minister concerned.”

Penrose finished by saying that whatever happens tonight it will be the beginning of the end for the prime minister, regardless of whether he wins or loses.

11:10 June 6

Conservative peer Lord Hayward says the events of the weekend when Boris Johnson was booed by the crowd prompted more MPs to submit their letters of no-confidence.

Speaking to Sky News he said that the dissenters did not expect to win the vote with support for Johnson within the party still strong, however, he and others believe that should he win it won’t be the end of the story.

He said he was surprised by the extent of the booing but said that it reflects what people are saying on the doorsteps up and down the country.

Those that have lost faith in his leadership have posted copies of their letters explaining their reasons.

Johnson’s supporters have come out in force saying that he won the party the largest majority in a long time and had delivered and was delivering on key issues. Many of these are from MPs who have consistently shown support for Johnson, however, there is a large silent majority who have yet to speak and they will do so tonight.

Twitter comments however show that those who believe he has delivered are far away from what people believe, with delivering cited as requiring a “little heavy lifting”, while others say “sleaze and law-breaking aside” he has done little to help the country having regularly lied to the public including on his key promise of delivering on a Brexit that involved “oven-ready” deals.

Others also criticise those in support of Johnson saying that it seems to be more about them keeping their job and their salary than about delivering for the country.

9:21 June 6

A vote of no confidence in the UK’s prime minister will take place later today.

After months of speculation, it was announced by the 1922 Committee chair that at 9:20 on June 6 that a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson, the Uk’s Prime Minister would take place.

Johnson, who was booed over the weekend at the celebrations for the Queen’s jubilee, has been under increasing pressure over the Partygate scandal that saw him fined for breaking Covid-19 pandemic rules that he put in place.

He has also been prone to a number of gaffes that have seen him lose support amongst backbenchers and with the general public in the south of the country.

Although many within the party still believe he is an election winner, and in particular his inner circle, a poll by the Sunday Times showed him to be 20 points behind opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer.

Notoriously secretive affairs, the no-confidence vote will take place between 6 pm and 8 pm on Monday night.

With many still backing Johnson, it is not a foregone conclusion that he will be removed from office, as he could still win the vote and be returned to carry on the job that he has fought so hard to keep.

Those who do support him say he remains an election winner, despite the polls, but that also there is no one better to head the country.  But Sir Roger Gale told Sky News that the Conservative Party is “spoilt for choice”.

He said: “I do know that we have some very good alternatives to the prime minister so we’re not short of choice.

“There is a list of people, and you know the list as well as I do, who are likely to run.

“Any single one of those people in my view would make a better prime minister than the one that we’ve got at the moment and as I said, I think we’re spoilt for choice.

“There are some very safe pairs of hands there. I won’t name names because the moment I do it’ll be assumed that I’m backing that person.”

Responding to the announcement 10 Downing Street issued a statement saying: “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 PM welcomes the opportunity to make his case to MPs and will remind them that when they’re united and focused on the issues that matter to voters there is no more formidable political force.”

Although the Conservative Party would like to draw a line and end the speculation, depending on the result of the “no confidence” vote today and how it is handled by the party the mood within the country could see the unhappiness with the current government continue unabated.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article, do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

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Written by

Peter McLaren-Kennedy

Originally from South Africa, Peter is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for the Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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