A no confidence vote in Boris Johnson’s leadership has officially been triggered.
The Prime Minister will face the vote this evening after reaching the threshold of 54 letters from Tory MPs.
It follows months of speculation that Mr Johnson’s leadership could be toppled following the ongoing ‘partygate’ scandal, The Manc reports.
At least 15% of Tory MPs have officially written to the chair of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, Sir Graham Brady, calling for a vote.
Sir Graham said that he notified Mr Johnson yesterday evening that the threshold for a contest had now been reached, and the pair then agreed on timings for the vote together – with it set to take place between 6pm and 8pm this evening in the House of Commons.
An announcement on the result is then expected about an hour after the vote closes.
Confirming that the vote is to take place, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “Tonight is a chance to end months of speculation and allow the government to draw a line and move on, delivering on the people’s priorities.
“The PM welcomes the opportunity to make his case to MPs and will remind them that when they’re united and focused on the issues that matter to voters there is no more formidable political force.”
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Although Sir Graham said that he would not be revealing when the threshold for letters had been reached or how many letters have been submitted in total, he said it would “not be a bad description” to say that some MPs had asked for their letters to be post-dated to ensure the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations were not interrupted.
How will the vote work then? Well, for the Prime Minister to be ousted, half of Tory MPs plus one would need to vote against him – which is currently 180 MPs.
If he wins, he will remain as party leader and Prime Minister and be immune from another such challenge for a year, but if he loses, a contest to choose a new party leader and Prime Minister will take place, and Mr Johnson will be barred from standing.
Featured Image – Simon Dawson / Number 10 Downing Street (via Flickr)
