Weakened by months of the “partygate” scandal, these parties in Downing Street during the confinements, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a vote of no confidence on Monday evening from his majority, more and more exceeded by his leader.
The parenthesis of the platinum jubilee celebrating the 70 years of reign of Elizabeth II barely closed, the United Kingdom returned from the start of the week with the crisis which has shaken political life for months.
It was in a press release, then on television, that the chairman of the 1922 committee of the Conservative Party, Graham Brady, announced that the fateful threshold of 54 letters from MPs, or 15% of the parliamentary group, asking for the departure of the leader had reached, through a procedure shrouded in great secrecy fueling speculation.
The vote will take place between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. local time (5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. GMT) and the result will be announced immediately following.
If the Prime Minister loses it, an internal election will be launched to designate a new leader of the party, who will become Prime Minister, in a context of war in Ukraine and inflation at its highest for 40 years.
If the 57-year-old leader wins, he cannot face another no-confidence motion for a year.
“(The vote) tonight offers an opportunity to end months of speculation and allow the government to draw a line and move on by responding to the priorities of the people”, reacted the spokesperson for Boris Johnson in a statement.
“The Prime Minister welcomes the opportunity to present his case to MPs and will remind them that there is no more formidable political force than when they are united and focused on the issues that matter to voters “, he added.
“Grotesque”
Far from putting an end to the scandal that has plagued the Conservative government for six months, the publication last week of an administrative report detailing the extent of breaches of anti-Covid rules at Downing Street has prompted new calls for the resignation, announced in dribs and drabs.
Last to come out of the woods on Monday morning, MP Jesse Norman deemed the Prime Minister’s defense in this case “grotesque” and criticized a whole series of policies announced in recent weeks, on Northern Ireland or immigration.
Boris Johnson, who was fined by the police in the partygate investigation (unheard of for a sitting prime minister), said he took “full responsibility for everything that happened” but felt he had to “continue” his work.
The scandal, along with soaring prices that are causing a historic decline in household purchasing power, has already caused its popularity to plummet, leading to heavy setbacks for the Conservatives in local elections in early May.
Two partial legislative elections promise to be very difficult are scheduled for June 23.
Boris Johnson, whose popularity has been unrelenting for a long time, has maintained his position by highlighting in particular his leading role in the Western response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
He has so far also been favored by the lack of an obvious successor in the ranks of the Conservatives, who have been in power for 12 years in the United Kingdom.
But public anger is considerable, as shown by the boos it received from crowds at celebrations for Elizabeth II’s reign over the weekend.
If he wins Monday night’s vote, the problems will not be over for Boris Johnson. In 2018, Theresa May, who preceded him in her post, survived a motion of no confidence before having to resign a few months later, too weak.
Another investigation into the “partygate” is also planned, this one parliamentary. If the latter concludes that he misled the House of Commons by claiming not to have broken the rules, he is supposed to resign.
