U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Could Be Ousted Following No-Confidence Vote

British Prime Minister is facing a vote of no-confidence on Monday evening, according to U.K. outlets. If he loses, he would have to step down as leader of the Conservative party and the country.

The news comes following a number of scandals, dubbed “Partygate” in the British press, in which the politician was found to have broken lockdown rules during the height of the pandemic.

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The vote of no confidence was triggered after 54 members of Parliament (MPs) from Johnson’s own party wrote to request a leadership challenge. In the secret ballot, which will take place tonight, Johnson will need to retain the support of at least 50% of his MPs – numbering 180 – to remain in office.

If he loses, the Conservative party will remain in power but will need to have an internal leadership contest to elect a new leader, who will automatically become Prime Minister. That new leader would then be expected to lead the party into the next general election in 2025.

The BBC’s political research unit reports that the majority of the Prime Minister’s cabinet (made up of senior MPs with specific responsibilities such as health, culture etc) supports Johnson, with 16 out of 22 saying they will vote for him.

One of those is Liz Truss, foreign secretary and minister for women and equality, who tweeted: “The Prime Minister has my 100% backing in today’s vote and I strongly encourage colleagues to support him. He has delivered on covid recovery and supporting Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. He has apologised for mistakes made. We must now focus on economic growth.”

More to come…

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