UK PM Boris Johnson Survives Confidence Vote From Own Party Over Partygate Scandal
Despite 41% of his own party members, the conservatives Tories, voting to oust him from office in a large-scale rebellion, the British prime minister is selling the outcome of his confidence votes as a big victory.
On late Monday, 211 members backed him to stay in Downing Street while 148 voted against Johnson – leading the British press to report of a just-surviving prime minister and calling the result a “hollow victory”. In 2018, his predecessor Theresa May won a larger percentage of a similar confidence vote only to resign after six months.
The ballots followed months of scandal over lockdown-breaking parties at the heart of government and criticism of Johnson’s response to an inflation-fueled surge in the cost of living.
As long as the Conservatives don’t decide to change the rules, they are not allowed to hold another confidence vote for the next twelve months. That buys Boris Johnson another time in office.
On Tuesday he will meet his senior ministers, a gathering where according to his office he is set to outline his vision for new policies. Read More…
