Theresa May wears a ballgown to cast her vote on Boris Johnson’s future
Theresa May #TheresaMay
Theresa May cast her ballot in Boris Johnson’s confidence vote while wearing a ballgown, according to reports.
The former prime minister also sported sequin encrusted heels as she made her decision on the current Tory leader’s future in Parliament.
She was on her way to speak at a dinner marking the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
But unfortunately, the Maidenhead MP refused to share whether she had swung in Mr Johnson’s favour tonight.
After emerging from the voting station, the Conservative said she was not ‘answering any questions’.
By 8pm tonight, a total of 169 Conservative MPs had publicly indicated their support for Mr Johnson. He needs 180 to stay.
The PM didn’t look amused by reporters asking him which way he would vote as he arrived to vote over his own leadership this evening.
Quickly going in and out of committee room 10, he was accompanied by Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and his policy unit chief Andrew Griffith.
Other Conservative MPs appeared in high spirits as they joined a long queue lining the committee corridor.
Father of the House Sir Peter Bottomley was reportedly the first to vote, while Penistone and Stocksbridge MP Miriam Cates was among the last.
Ms May has a stormy history with her successor, with Mr Johnson resigning from her government over her handling of Brexit negotiations.
She survived a vote of confidence in December 2018 – but resigned just five months later, showing how the challenge can forecast a leader’s downfall, even if they pull through.
She has since been a fierce critic of Mr Johnson’s and has made it clear in the past that she does not approve of the parties that took place in Downing Street during the pandemic.
Speaking in January before the full Sue Gray report emerged, she scorched her replacement with stern comments in the House of Commons.
Covid regulations had placed severe curbs on the public who ‘had a right to expect their prime minister to have read the rules, understand the meaning of the rules and to set an example by following those rules’, she said.
She went on: ‘What the Gray report does show is that No. 10 Downing Street was not observing the regulations they had imposed on members of the public.’
Turning to Mr Johnson, she asked: ‘So either my right honorable friend had not read the rules, did not understand what they meant and nor did others around him, or they didn’t think the rules applied to No. 10. Which was it?’
The PM shot back: ‘That is not what the Gray report says. I suggest she wait to see the conclusion of the inquiry.’
But months later, he became the first sitting PM in history to be found to have broken the law – legislation he introduced.
The British leader has issued a late plea to Tory MPs to support him, warning that ‘pointless’ internal warfare could see them turfed out of office.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Get your need-to-know latest news, feel-good stories, analysis and more by signing up to Metro’s News Updates newsletter