Prime Minister Boris Johnson saves his job by winning a decisive vote of confidence

Boris Johnson saves his head. The British Prime Minister emerged victorious on Monday, June 6, from a decisive vote of confidence within his conservative majority. He obtained 211 votes from Conservative MPs in favor against 148 calling for his departure in a secret ballot. This result allows him remain leader of the party and save his post as head of government. IHe cannot be targeted by another motion of no confidence for a year, but his authority risks being considerably reduced.

Two and a half years after his triumphant victory at the polls, the 57-year-old leader, increasingly weakened and contested, was caught up in the “partygate” affair, the parties in Downing Street during the confinements, relaunched at the end of May by a devastating report detailing the violations of the rules enacted in the face of Covid. On Monday, Conservative Party 1922 Committee Chairman Graham Brady announced that the fateful threshold of 54 letters from MPs, or 15% of the parliamentary group, calling for Mr Johnson to leave, had been reached, triggering the vote.

Pleading his case this afternoon in front of his troops, Boris Johnson said to himself “happy” that the vote takes place: “If you give me your support tonight, we have a chance to stop talking about ourselves and start talking exclusively about what we do for the people of this country.”he hammered, according to a Conservative Party official quoted by AFP.

At the end of 2018, Theresa May had survived a motion of no confidence with a wider margin than her successor, before resigning a few months later, too weakened to lead. Boris Johnson has so far totally refused to step down. A few minutes after the vote, he greeted a “convincing result”. “As a government we can move on and focus on the things that really matter”he added.