Boris Johnson Wins No-Confidence Vote, But at What Cost?
The British PM survived a stronger-than-expected attempt to oust him. But given such measures against predecessors, it doesn’t bode well for his political longevity.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was left still alive but barely breathing after scraping by to win Monday night’s vote of no confidence by 211 to 148. And while Johnson may have won the vote, he did not escape scot-free. In fact, some may argue that it left him mortally wounded, politically speaking. The vote made a spectacle of just how displeased not only the people but members of his own party are with his leadership and, against Johnson’s wishes, will not be forgotten anytime soon.
For some background, rules state that at least 15% of Members of Parliament (MPs) must submit a letter of no confidence in the PM to Sir Graham Brady, chair of the backbench 1922 Committee, for a vote to be held. Therefore, 54 of the 359 Conservative MPs submitted letters before Brady announced the party-only, secret ballot on Monday morning.
The PM needed, and secured, a clear majority of 180 votes, or half of 359 plus one, in his favor. But the number of votes against Johnson was significantly higher than expected, with over 40% of his party having voted against him.
“Whilst Boris Johnson has clung on today — make no mistake, his reputation is in tatters and his authority is now totally shot,” said Liberal Democratic Leader Ed Davey.
According to party “rules,” the Conservatives cannot hold another vote for 12 months. But these rules can be broken. There is nothing preventing the 1922 Committee from changing its rules, since they are not in the public domain. And despite a victory, votes of no confidence have proven detrimental to past Conservative leaders. Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May resigned after winning votes against their leadership. Johnson’s margin of victory came up short of both May’s 133 votes in 2018 and Thatcher’s 147 votes in 1990.
After results were in, Johnson described the vote as “convincing” and “decisive.” However, such a slender margin is not what the PM needed to “move on” and renew faith in his leadership. “The not-getting-on-with-the-job has been a significant part of the problem,” said Guardian columnist Marina Hyde.
“This is the end for Boris Johnson. The only question is how long the agony is prolonged,” said Rory Stewart, former Conservative leadership candidate.
And while some of the PM’s remaining supporters claimed that he had gotten “the big decisions right,” including Brexit, the pandemic, and support for Ukraine in the war against Russia — others adamantly disagree. The way Johnson has chosen to handle the pandemic, the resulting Partygate scandal, the cost-of-living crisis, and several shortages has come at a cost for many across the UK. And even though the letter and vote submission process was private, some Conservative party members and previous allies of the premier have joined the public in expressing their discontent with Johnson.
“I think one thing that made a really big difference is how he dealt with the COVID situation, not just Partygate,” said 23-year-old Kiran Karim during a break from manning the front desk at The Stay Club Kentish Town. She also highlighted how other countries initially had stricter COVID regulations than the UK, but were then able to move past them quicker. “He messed people around so much,” said Karim. Towards the start of the pandemic, Johnson announced his “Eat Out to Help Out” initiative, which pushed people to go out to help support restaurants and other hospitality businesses. However, the scheme somewhat backfired and instead contributed to the UK’s second wave of the virus. “He encouraged people to be out in the middle of a pandemic,” said Karim. Some may ask, what else did he expect?
Karim admitted that Johnson was given a difficult term, but “you need a leader that will take whatever is thrown at you and try to make the best of the situation.” And during this time, the PM instead made decisions that began the erosion of people’s trust in him. The “cherry on top” of it all was the Partygate scandal.
“I think [the vote] needed to happen because of everything that’s happened with the COVID pandemic and the Partygate scandal, he’s lost way too much trust in the public,” said 23-year-old Emma Hickson. Many U.K. residents see the no-confidence vote as something Johnson can’t come back from, especially after Johnson was so publicly booed while attending the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee service of thanksgiving on Friday at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
“If you’re a monarchist, you likely vote Tory,” said 27-year-old Alex Hickson. “So, the fact that he was getting booed by people that are out there supporting the queen said a lot about how unpopular he is.”
Johnson was quick to get back to work on Tuesday and direct attention to his focus on tax cutting. Some, like 60-year-old Chris Molloy, believe the PM’s actions to be in vain. Considering the bruises left by the no-confidence vote and Johnson’s previous breaches of trust, “it’s a bit too late to be honest, the damage has been done,” said Molloy. And it looks like only time will tell.
