UK Politics

Boris Johnson’s position is “unsustainable” after he scraped through a confidence vote with over 40 per cent of MPs attempting to remove him, William Hague has said.The former Conservative leader said the prime minister experienced a “greater level of rejection” than any of his predecessors had “endured and survived”, including Theresa May in 2018.“While Johnson has survived the night, the damage done to his premiership is severe,” Lord Hague wrote.“Deep inside, he should recognise that, and turn his mind to getting out in a way that spares party and country such agonies and uncertainties.”The Conservative grandee argued there had been a collapse of faith that “almost certainly cannot be repaired”, adding: “For Johnson, continuing to lead the party after such a revolt will prove to be unsustainable”.The remarks from Lord Hague, who led the Conservatives between 1997 and 2001, come after Mr Johnson said the government could now “move on” following what he claimed was a “decisive” result.He also denied he was interested in calling a snap election, after Tory MPs voted by 211 to 148 in support of his leadership.It represents a worse verdict from Tory MPs than when Ms May faced a confidence vote in 2018. The former prime minister secured the support of 63 per cent of her colleagues, but was still forced out within six months.Lord Hague noted he did not face a confidence vote while leader of the opposition, but added he “would have regarded my position as completely untenable if more than a third of my MPs had ever voted against me”.“The nature of this particular revolt makes it qualitatively as well as quantitatively devastating,” he wrote in The Times.“A fairly narrow victory for Boris Johnson is not the defeat of a rival faction, or the squashing of an alternative candidate, but rather the fending-off of a gathering feeling of hopelessness.He added: “That is the worst possible result from the Conservative Party’s point of view.”In an attempt to pile further pressure on Mr Johnson, the Liberal Democrats have also tabled a motion of no confidence in the prime minister in the House of Commons. Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said: “The lying lawbreaker in Number 10 is clinging on by the skin of his teeth. “Yesterday’s events have unleashed a civil war for the Conservatives and a summer of discontent for everyone else, where the cost of living emergency is ignored while Boris Johnson continues to fight for his own survival.”However, given the government controls the Commons order paper, the motion is extremely unlikely to be debated by MPs.But defending the prime minister’s position ahead of a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, said the confidence vote should be respected and the party should “move forward”.Speaking on Sky News, he said: “We’ve got two years to deliver and demonstrate that we’re delivering.“I think we’re the ones with a plan, I think this prime minister is full of vision, determination and if anything, renewed energy to get off the Westminster insider track, on to the outward-facing agenda of delivering for the people.“And I believe that we’ve got the plan, the energy and the team which Labour can’t match, they can’t rival, and I don’t think they’re doing anything other than carping from the side-lines.” More

Boris Johnson says no-confidence vote win ‘decisive’ despite mass Tory rebellionBoris Johnson could face a second confidence ballot on his leadership within six months, a senior Tory who voted against him last night has said.Tobias Ellwood, chair of the Commons defence committee, said heads of the powerful 1992 Committee of backbench Tory MPs are looking at changing the rules.At present, any leader who wins a confidence vote can not be challenged for another 12 months.When asked if the rules could be changed so that another vote could take place before then, he told Sky News. “I understand that’s what the 1922 Committee are looking at, deliberately for this reason.“Because if we’re going to have that stay of execution, we are now going to recognise the democratic outcome and support the prime minister then let’s give the prime minister time to improve.”He added: “But, methods can be made, the system can be adjusted to mean the current rule of allowing a prime minister an entire year would be changed.”Show latest update

1654613110Ukraine’s Zelensky ‘very happy’ PM survived confidence voteThe president of war torn Ukraine has said he was “very happ”’ that prime minister Boris Johnson survived the vote of confidence on Monday night.Speaking during an online event hosted by FT Live, Volodymyr Zelensky said: “I’m glad we haven’t lost a very important ally, this is great news.”Emily Atkinson7 June 2022 15:451654612210Opinion: ‘The Commons is in the gutter thanks to Boris Johnson – it’s time to clean house’After last night’s no-confidence vote, Conservative MPs now face another choice, writes deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner. Will they today back a set of independent recommendations to strengthen standards in public life or instead turn their backs on them to save the skin of a doomed prime minister?Labour will be forcing a vote in the Commons today to clean up politics. Our motion follows Boris Johnson’s much-criticised rewriting of the ministerial code as he faces investigation over whether or not he deliberately misled parliament.In the very week Sue Gray’s report was published, the prime minister airbrushed the words integrity, honesty, accountability and transparency from his own foreword to the code. His attempt to rig the rules, however, went further. The consensus among experts and watchdogs alike is that the net effect of the prime minister’s changes was to weaken standards and concentrate power in his own hands.Emily Atkinson7 June 2022 15:301654611327PM won by a smaller margin than you thinkIf just 32 Conservative MPs had changed their minds and voted against Johnson, instead of for, he would have been ousted, writes Kit Yates.Read Kit’s full piece here: Matt Mathers7 June 2022 15:151654610427Lord David Frost opposes tax rise to fund social careLord David Frost has said he opposes the tax rises planned by the government to help pay for social care, and believes most of the money saved will not go towards improving the system anyway.When asked whether the government should reverse the national insurance rise, he told BBC Radio 4’s World At One: “Yes – I think that all tax rises that we brought in and the corporation tax ones that are due to come in soon ought to be reversed.”It is not Conservative to be raising taxes, and it is undermining growth and prosperity. More

The prime minister has insisted that a confidence vote which saw almost 150 of his own MPs try to force him from the helm of the Conservative party was a “decisive” victory for him.Despite winning tonight’s ballot by 211 votes to 148, Boris Johnson has found himself in the eye of a revolt against his premiership, the scale of which far surpassed the expectations of Mr Johnson’s allies – failing to put to bed questions over his leadership. When Theresa May faced a confidence vote in 2018, she secured the support of 63 per cent of her party, but was still forced out within six months. Mr Johnson, who has lost the faith of 41 per cent of his party, amassed numbers significantly higher than the 36.9 per cent voting no confidence in Ms May.One rebel Conservative MP described the result as being “fatal” and a second as being “terminal”, while a third told The Independent: “He’s finished. The cabinet ought to step in.” But, ever brazen, the prime minister told reporters in No 10: “I think it’s an extremely good, positive, conclusive, decisive result which enables us to move on, to unite and to focus on delivery and that is exactly what we are going to do.”Mr Johnson brushed aside speculation that he was now a lame duck prime minister who needed to call a snap election to secure a new mandate from the public.Tonight’s result was a “very good result for politics and for the country,” he maintained.And allies of Mr Johnson insisted his victory should draw a line under the question of his leadership.On the horizon, however, is the advancing threat of further damage to his leadership in the shape of two key by-elections in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton on 23 June. In the meantime, Mr Johnson will remain as party leader – but what comes next for the PM?Despite winning today’s vote, Mr Johnson finds himself in perilous territory.Speaking to reporters this morning, Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, acknowledged that Boris Johnson would not necessarily be safe even if he survived the vote.Previous prime ministers have won confidence votes but resigned some months later because doubts in their leadership made it increasingly difficult to govern.Although the Conservative committee’s rules say there could not be another confidence vote for 12 months, Sir Graham said those procedures could be changed.“Technically it’s possible for rules to be changed but the rule at present is there would be a period of grace,” he told reporters.The Sun earlier reported that Sir Graham is considering reducing the time limit to three or six months, or perhaps doing away with it all together.This could be crucial for Mr Johnson as a disastrous result in the upcoming by-election could renew questions over his leadership and increase jostles over whether there should be another confidence vote.Rebel MPs also threatened earlier on Monday to obstruct key parliamentary votes even if Mr Johnson survived the ballot, The Mail on Sunday reported.As such, MPs could refuse to vote on the government’s legislation until the PM quits, the paper said.Looking to a more certain future, the prime minister is set to face an inquiry by the Commons privileges committee into whether he knowingly misled the Commons when he repeatedly told MPs that there were no parties,And chair of the committee has said it is “absolutely certain” that Boris Johnson will be forced from office if the cross-party panel finds he has misled the Commons.“They can force him to quit,” chair Chris Bryant told Sky News. “I’m absolutely certain that if the privileges committee decides that the prime minister has misled parliament and sends a report to the House to that effect, Boris Johnson may still try to cling on, but I would have brought that at that point every self-respecting member of the House of Commons would vote for whatever suspension is recommended by the committee.“And if he’s suspended from the House, he’s out. That’s it.”Mr Bryant said that the committee could take as long as four months to reach its conclusions. More

Boris Johnson is facing demands for a wholesale cull of his cabinet after scraping through a vote of no confidence in his leadership by 211 votes to 148.The PM’s victory in the ballot of Tory MPs spared him the humiliation of ejection from 10 Downing Street by his own party, but left him deeply wounded as he faces two by-elections later this month and a general election less than two years away.The tally of 41.2 per cent of Tory MPs opposing the leader was far worse than expected by Mr Johnson’s allies and significantly higher than the 36.9 per cent voting no confidence in Theresa May six months before she was forced from office.Speaking in Downing Street moments after the outcome was announced, Mr Johnson said the government could now “move on” following a “convincing” and “decisive” result. He denied that he was interested in calling a snap election to avoid being a lame duck prime minister.“We’re going to bash on,” said the prime minister. “As a result of this decision by the parliamentary party, which I welcome, we have a conclusion to something which has been dragging on for far too long and we have the ability now to unite, deliver and get on with the people’s priorities, and that is what we are going to do.”But critics made it clear that they will not relent in their calls for him to go. Veteran MP Sir Roger Gale said Mr Johnson had “lost the support of a significant portion of his party” and should consider his position. Following the “severely damaging” result, Sir Roger said he would be “surprised if the prime minister is still in Downing Street in the autumn”.Another MP who submitted a no-confidence letter in Mr Johnson’s leadership told The Independent: “He’s finished. The cabinet ought to step in.” And another described the damage done to his premiership as “terminal”. York MP Julian Sturdy said the PM should “consider his position” as he “no longer enjoys the full-hearted confidence of the parliamentary party”. One government minister said it was “game on” for a leadership contest within the next six months, while a Tory rebel declared the result “fatal”. “We will have a new party leader by the party conference in October. The result in the two upcoming by-elections will help us scrub off the other 32 votes we need. But if the cabinet had any balls they would go in and tell him to go,” they said.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “Conservative MPs made their choice tonight. They have ignored the British people and hitched themselves and their party firmly to Boris Johnson and everything that he represents.”Critics said that if he is to remain in power, Mr Johnson must deliver a change in the style of his leadership and a radical revamp of his cabinet to remove hardline loyalists like Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary, and Mark Spencer who are seen to have underperformed and antagonised voters.In their place, backbenchers called for a more inclusive frontbench better reflecting the party’s liberal One Nation traditions, as well as a clearer vision of the direction in which Mr Johnson wants to take the country.In an appeal to backbenchers just hours before the vote, Mr Johnson promised tax cuts and reductions in regulation and public spending as he urged MPs not to hand power to Labour by descending into “pointless fratricidal debate about the future of our party”.But he risked infuriating Tories who have been on the receiving end of voter anger over Partygate by declaring: “I’d do it again.”One former cabinet minister who voted for Mr Johnson said he needed a stronger team around him as he attempts to win back trust in the wake of the partygate scandal.The MP told The Independent: “He needs to appoint cabinet ministers who know their own minds and who don’t give statements that sound sycophantic and, frankly, f***ing stupid.”Another senior Tory MP said a “massive cull” of the current cabinet was needed, describing many of them as “rubbish”.One MP who voted against Mr Johnson said that after surviving a confidence vote he had to appoint a “wider” group of cabinet ministers, from different wings of his party, following complaints too many support a hard line on Brexit.There was anger among even MPs who support Mr Johnson after Ms Dorries lashed out at potential leadership contender Jeremy Hunt, and in doing so appeared to admit that the Conservative government’s pandemic planning had been “inadequate”.Others said that members of the cabinet parroting “lines to take” on the Partygate scandal have made them and the prime minister look stupid.There was fury from the prime minister’s allies at Mr Johnson being forced into a no-confidence vote, with one senior MP describing rebellious colleagues as a “lying sack of snaky b*****ds”Under party rules overseen by the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, Mr Johnson’s victory makes him safe from a further challenge for 12 months.However, senior figures in the committee have made clear that it is possible for the rules to be changed to allow an earlier challenge. And Mr Johnson also faces the possibility of a visit by the “men in grey suits” telling him that it is time for him to stand down. But allies of Mr Johnson declared the win “comprehensive”, with foreign minister James Cleverly calling on Tory MPs to respect the result. Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, said it was time to “draw a line under this now”. Claiming that Mr Johnson had won “handsomely”, Mr Zahawi said: “Fifty per cent plus one is a majority. Boris did much better than that.”A Downing Street source described it as “a decisive win that renews the PM’s mandate and allows the government to focus relentlessly on the issues that concern our voters and deliver on their priorities”.But former cabinet minister Rory Stewart, who was kicked out of the party by Mr Johnson after standing against him for the leadership in 2019, calculated that around 75 per cent of backbenchers had voted to remove him.“This is the end for Boris Johnson,” said Mr Stewart. “The only question is how long the agony is prolonged.”The day’s drama was kicked off by an 8am announcement from Sir Graham that he had received at least 54 letters from MPs demanding a confidence vote.Sir Graham revealed that some MPs had backdated their letters to Monday to avoid disrupting celebrations of the Queen’s platinum jubilee, but refused to reveal the total received – with some reports suggesting that as many as 67 MPs had sent letters.It later emerged that Mr Johnson was informed early on Sunday that he was facing a vote, and agreed with Sir Graham that it should be held the following day.This left him to spend several hours in front of the TV cameras watching a jubilee parade at Buckingham Palace, before calling close allies – including campaigns guru Sir Lynton Crosby – to a crisis summit in his Downing Street flat to plan the battle to save his job.A letter from the PM was sent to every MP, promising tax cuts if he remained in post, and saying that the vote provided a “golden opportunity” to draw a line under the “media obsession” with Partygate.Loyal lieutenants were sent out to talk up the prime minister’s prospects, with Jacob Rees-Mogg insisting that his position was secure even if he won by a single vote – despite having argued in 2018 that Theresa May should quit if she lost the confidence of a third of Tory MPs.Ms Dorries raised hackles with a ferocious assault on Mr Hunt after the former foreign secretary became the most senior Tory to call for Mr Johnson to go, accusing him of “duplicity” and saying he had made “inadequate” preparations for a pandemic while running the Department of Health.Former minister Jesse Norman issued a blistering attack on the PM’s character and record, denouncing his claims to have been vindicated by the Sue Gray Partygate report as “grotesque”.And Tory MP John Penrose quit as Mr Johnson’s anti-corruption tsar, saying it would not be “honourable or right” for him to stay on as PM, while Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross confirmed he would vote for his removal. Another Scottish MP, John Lamont, quit as a parliamentary aide in order to be able to vote against Mr Johnson.Eyebrows were raised when the potential contender for the Tory succession Penny Mordaunt failed to join fellow ministers in issuing a message of support for the PM, but instead published an article to commemorate the anniversary of D-Day in which she praised the “humble, honest and hard working” leadership of Dwight Eisenhower and warned: “Confidence without competence is a dangerous combination.”Meanwhile, a poll of Tory activists by the ConservativeHome website made ominous reading for the PM, with 58 per cent of the 1,058 party members surveyed agreeing he should be ousted and just 41 per cent wanting him to stay.In a defiant last-minute appeal to MPs, Mr Johnson risked infuriating critics of his handling of Partygate by telling them: “I’d do it again.”In a bid to regain control of the political initiative, he is due to make keynote speeches over the coming fortnight on housing and the economy, for the latter of which he will be joined by chancellor Rishi Sunak.Neither Ms May nor the other former Tory prime ministers Sir John Major and David Cameron issued a statement of support for Mr Johnson. More

Boris Johnson has survived an attempt by Conservative MPs to remove him from No 10, but more than 40 per cent of his party voted against him.The prime minister won the no-confidence vote – triggered when 54 of his MPs demanded the contest – but the margin of 211 votes to 148 will only fuel doubts about his leadership.It is significantly higher than the 120-130 rebels that were widely expected – and a far worse result than when Theresa May faced a similar contest.One senior Tory warned of “a guerrilla war” in his party through to the next general election, with further attempts to topple Mr Johnson following the Partygate scandal.And Rory Stewart, the former Conservative leadership candidate, predicted: “This is the end for Boris Johnson. The only question is how long the agony is prolonged.”Mrs May won a no-confidence vote in December 2018 – but was forced to resign just five months later as the blow of 117 MPs turning against her sapped her authority.Mr Johnson is braced for losing two crucial by-elections later this month and faces a Commons inquiry into whether he lied to parliament over the No 10 parties.The result was revealed after all 359 Conservative MPs trooped into a Westminster committee room to take part in the secret ballot – their mobile phones confiscated to avoid photos emerging.Cabinet ministers had rallied around, but some Scottish Tories deserted the prime minister – while Mrs May cast her vote, almost certainly against Mr Johnson, in a glittery blue ballgown.Keir Starmer pointed to the result as fresh evidence of “divided Tories propping up Boris Johnson with no plan to tackle the issues you are facing”.“I don’t claim that I or my party will get everything right, but I promise that when we don’t we will always be honest with you,” the Labour leader said.Charles Walker, a former vice-chair of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, speaking before the result, said a large revolt would not see the party “get behind the prime minister”.“Or will there be a temptation to sort of have a rolling maul, a guerrilla war, for the next six, 12, 18, 24 months?” he asked.Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, called for Conservatives who care about “integrity and decency” to resign the party whip and sit as an independent.“Whilst Boris Johnson has clung on today – make no mistake, his reputation is in tatters and his authority is now totally shot.”But Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, claimed Mr Johnson had won a “handsome” victory, explaining: “It’s a ballot. 50 plus one is a majority. Boris did much better than that.”The fact that all 359 Tory MPs took part means the MP arrested on suspicion of rape and other sexual offences and ordered to stay away from Westminster, voted through a proxy. More

Despite winning Monday’s no-confidence vote, Boris Johnson is facing speculation over his long-term future after 148 Tory MPs voted against him.Even before the no-confidence vote, he was odds-on at 4/9 to leave No 10 according to Betfair.The list of runners and riders to replace Mr Johnson has lengthened in recent months, but there are several contenders should he eventually be forced out of Downing Street.Rishi SunakThe chancellor has seen his fortunes decline amid the fallout from revelations in The Independent about his family’s tax status.But bookies have not fully turned against Mr Sunak, who remains in the top five MPs most likely to take over the reins from Mr Johnson, with odds of 9/1. The 42-year-old was once a favourite, at least in part due to his pandemic payouts, but he has since been criticised for being slow to react to rising energy bills and not doing enough to help the poorest households. More

One of the few Scots in Boris Johnson’s government quit his post to join the majority of Conservative MPs from north of the border who voted against the prime minister in Monday’s confidence vote.John Lamont stood down as parliamentary private secretary in the Foreign Office, saying that he had received thousands of messages from constituents who were “rightly deeply angered” by lockdown-breaching parties in Downing Street.At least four of the six Scottish Conservatives in the House of Commons voted to remove Mr Johnson, including Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross and former Scotland secretary David Mundell.Their decision leaves current Scotland secretary Alister Jack almost isolated in his support for the PM and reflects the collapse in confidence in Mr Johnson’s leadership north of the border, where Tories have slumped behind Labour into third place in recent polls.Mr Johnson has long been unpopular among Scottish Conservatives, some of whom launched a campaign codenamed Operation Arse to seek his defeat in the 2019 leadership battle.Mr Ross was joined by the bulk of the party’s MSPs in calling for the prime minister’s resignation in January, only to withdraw his demand following the outbreak of war in Ukraine.Today he said that he had “heard loud and clear the anger over the breaking of Covid rules” and could not “in good faith” support the PM remaining in office.Mr Mundell, who served in the cabinets of David Cameron and Theresa May from 2015-19 but was sacked when Mr Johnson came to office, said: “After a difficult couple of years and listening to the views of my constituents, I voted tonight for a fresh start and new leadership for our country.”And West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP Andrew Bowie said: “Tonight, and with a heavy heart, I have taken the extremely tough decision to vote against the prime minister.“I have not taken the decision lightly, at all, but after listening to my constituents, they remain understandably angry and upset at what has happened. This was the only choice for the good of the country.” More