Boris Johnson Faces Confidence Vote — Here’s What You Need To Know

Topline

The U.K. Parliament will hold a vote of no confidence on Prime Minister Boris Johnson Monday evening, a Conservative Party chairman announced Monday morning, which could result in Johnson getting booted from leading the country after he broke its Covid-19 lockdown rules with a series of pandemic-era parties.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson holds a press conference on May 25 in London, England.

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Key Facts

The vote was triggered after at least 54 Conservative members of Parliament—15% of all the party’s MPs—said they had no confidence in Johnson, MP Sir Graham Brady, who chairs a group representing Conservative members of Parliament, announced Monday.

Conservative MPs will vote Monday via secret ballot on whether or not they have confidence in Johnson’s leadership, and a simple majority of MPs (at least 180) would have to vote against the prime minister for him to be ousted.

If Johnson loses the vote of confidence, the party will hold an election to determine a new leader— but if he wins, then he’s shielded from another no-confidence vote for a year.

While Johnson has been primarily criticized for a series of Covid lockdown parties, Conservative MP Jesse Norman said in a letter published Monday there are other concerns regarding the prime minister’s leadership, saying Johnson’s government “lacks a sense of mission” and is based more on “empty rhetoric” than “sensible planning.”

Norman, one of the MPs who helped trigger Monday’s vote, also pointed to moves like Johnson considering overriding Northern Ireland’s Brexit agreement and a plan to send undocumented immigrants to Rwanda.

A spokesperson for Johnson said the vote “is a chance to end months of speculation and allow the government to draw a line and move on.”

What To Watch For

The vote will take place between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. local time Monday evening (between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Eastern time). Brady said in his statement Monday the “votes will be counted immediately afterwards,” but it’s still unclear when the results will be announced.

Chief Critic

In a letter to Conservative MPs obtained by the BBC, Johnson’s team asked lawmakers to “reject chaos and division” by voting for the prime minister, arguing Johnson has an “unmatched electoral record” and will help the party in future elections, and holding an election to replace him would be “extremely harmful to the country and the Conservative Party.” “By backing [Johnson] … we can put the distraction of the past months behind us, unite and focus on getting on with the job,” Johnson’s team wrote.

Crucial Quote

“You are simply seeking to campaign, to keep changing the subject and to create political and cultural dividing lines mainly for your advantage, at a time when the economy is struggling, inflation is soaring and growth is anemic at best,” Norman, who previously served as the U.K.’s treasury secretary, wrote in his letter to Johnson.

Tangent

Former PM Theresa May was the last British leader to face a no-confidence vote in 2018 in response to her handling of Brexit. Though she won the 200-117 vote, she still resigned six months later in May 2019.

Key Background

The no-confidence vote comes after a tumultuous few months for Johnson, who has been linked to a series of parties that took place as the U.K. was on lockdown and such gatherings were not allowed to be happening, a scandal known as “partygate.” A highly anticipated report from senior civil servant Sue Gray released last month found there had been “failures of leadership” across Johnson’s government that had allowed the parties to take place in spite of the lockdown rules, and criticized the “excessive consumption of alcohol” that was “not appropriate in a professional workplace at any time.” Johnson was fined only $63 (£50) for the parties following a police investigation and apologized for the parties in light of Gray’s report, but the PM refused to resign despite calls for him to do so. Johnson has continued to face opposition from politicians and the general public, including being booed by spectators when he arrived Friday at a service for Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee.