UK’s Boris Johnson survives no-confidence vote after partygate rebellion
- The prime minister has managed to cling to power, as 41 per cent of Conservative Party lawmakers cast ballots against his leadership after months of scandals
- Johnson has been under pressure over alcohol-fuelled gatherings at Downing Street while the country was on pandemic lockdown
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson survives no-confidence vote
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a confidence vote on Monday, but a large rebellion in his Conservative Party over the so-called partygate scandal dealt a blow to his authority and leaves him with a struggle to win back support.
Johnson, who scored a sweeping election victory in 2019, has been under increasing pressure after he and staff held alcohol-fuelled parties in his Downing Street office and residence when Britain was under lockdowns to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
The vote was a blow to Johnson, with 41 per cent of his lawmakers casting ballots against his leadership after months of scandals and gaffes that has raised questions over his authority to govern Britain and knocked his standing among the public.
But Johnson, a master of political comebacks, instead described the vote as a “decisive result” meaning that “as a government we can move on and focus on the stuff that I think really matters to people”.
“We can focus on what we’re doing to help people with the cost of living, what we’re doing to clear the Covid backlogs, what we’re doing to make streets and communities safer by putting more police out,” said Johnson, who for weeks has tried to move the national conversation away from partygate.
It is a change of fortune for Johnson and underlines the depth of anger against him. He was met with a chorus of jeers and boos, and some muted cheers, at events to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth in recent days.