Members of the British prime minister’s party reportedly expect his leadership to be challenged this week in a confidence vote
Boris Johnson is facing an immediate challenge to his hold on power, according to reports. His party members are pushing for a confidence vote following the election. “Partygate”Public support of their leader was shattered by scandal
Members of Johnson’s ruling Conservative Party aim to hold a confidence vote on Wednesday, the London’s Sunday Times newspaper reported, citing comments from lawmakers. One Tory MP told the media outlet that dissident members have already reached the threshold of 54 formal requests lodged with the party’s 1922 Committee to force the vote.
Johnson could be forced to quit or called for a general election to give the voters the opportunity to select new leadership. Johnson’s party has been taking a political beating since revelations that his office held alcohol-fueled parties at Downing Street and Whitehall during nationwide Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.
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Boris Johnson declares whether he plans to continue in power
“I cannot and will not defend the indefensible,”Stephen Hammond is Tory MP and said that he received a Partygate investigative report late last month. “I am struck by a number of my colleagues who were really concerned that it’s almost impossible for the PM to say, ‘I want to move on,’ as we cannot move on without regaining public trust, and I am not sure that’s possible in the current situation.”
The Tories may be hard-pressed to retain two seats in Parliament that will be on the line later this month in by-elections after two MPs were forced to resign – one for watching pornography on his telephone in the House of Commons and the other for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy. At least one race has a lead of at least double for the opposition Labour Party candidate.
Johnson’s failures as a leader and misleading Parliament have been the subject of numerous public calls from Tory MPs. The PM has shrugged off those demands, saying earlier this week that he can’t “abandon”The country is experiencing economic hardships as well as the Russia-Ukraine Conflict.
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Johnson was booed by some onlookers as he arrived at London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral on Friday for the National Service of Thanksgiving, part of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebration. Last month, the Tories were unable to win nearly 500 seats in their local election and lost control of 11 councils.
