LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday survived the biggest challenge yet of his political career as he avoided being booted from office by his fellow Conservative Party lawmakers after months of outrage over boozy parties that he and his staff attended while the rest of the country was under COVID-19 lockdown.
The vote of confidence, which saw 211 of 359 Conservative members of Parliament express their support for keeping him as party leader and therefore as prime minister, means that Johnson — who has gained a reputation for an ability to rebound from controversy — is protected from further internal challenge to his leadership for at least another year.
But the narrow victory by British political standards, a month after an investigator’s report called out “failures of leadership and judgment” over wine- and gin-fueled parties at Johnson’s Downing Street office and residence in 2020 and 2021, leaves him in a weakened position, analysts say. The wounding came less than three years after Johnson celebrated leading Conservatives to one of their biggest election victories in decades.
