By No-confidence vote for Boris Johnson expected later today
A vote of confidence in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s leadership is expected to take place later as more and more MPs make their feelings known.
Sir Graham Brady, who chairs the Tory committee that organises such votes, is expected to announce the move shortly.
Mr Johnson has continued to face mounting calls to resign over lockdown parties since the Sue Gray report was published in full.
A no-confidence vote will be triggered if 54 Tory MPs submit letters of no-confidence in him, with former minister Jesse Norman being the latest to confirm their move.
In a letter to Mr Johnson posted on social media, the MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire said the PM had presided over “a culture of casual law-breaking” in No 10.
On Sunday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told the BBC the prime minister would not lose a confidence vote among his own MPs.
For a confidence vote to be triggered, 54 Tory MPs must formally put in a letter to Sir Graham Brady asking for one.
So far 28 Conservative MPs have publicly called on Boris Johnson to step down, but many more are believed to have done so privately.
Mr Johnson was met with boos on Friday morning as he attended a Thanksgiving Service for the Queen at St Paul’s Cathedral.
If a confidence motion is called, a majority of Tory MPs must vote against their leader in a secret ballot for them to be removed.
This would mean in the current Parliament the rebellious MPs would need to get 180 votes in total to succeed in removing Mr Johnson.
A Conservative leader who survives a confidence vote is safe from any further challenge for a year.
(Image: Reuters)
