LONDON: Britain’s governing Conservatives will hold a no-confidence vote Monday that could oust Prime Minister Boris Johnson from power, after months of growing discontent with a divisive politician whose career has survived multiple ups and downs.
If Johnson loses the vote among the 359 Conservative lawmakers, the party will choose a new leader, who will also become prime minister. If he wins, he can’t face another challenge for a year under current party rules.
While Johnson has weathered many political storms, he has recently struggled to turn the page on months of ethics scandals, most notably over rule-breaking parties in government buildings during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Revelations that the prime minister and his staff repeatedly flouted restrictions they imposed on Britain in 2020 and 2021 have fueled outrage in the country at the scandal known as “partygate.”
Conservative Party official Graham Brady announced Monday that he had received enough letters from lawmakers demanding a vote on Johnson’s leadership to trigger one. That happens if 54 Tory legislators — 15 percent of the party’s group in the House of Commons — write to Brady.
“The threshold of 15 percent has been passed,” Brady said. He said the vote would take place in person in the House of Commons on Monday evening, with the result announced soon after.
