Prime Minister Boris Johnson is likely to face a difficult PMQs today after a vote of confidence on his premiership that saw the Tory leader survive by 211 votes to 148 against. Johnson’s allies have been trying to spin this as a decisive victory for the PM, but history tells us that prime minister’s don’t tend to last long in the job when there’s such a large groundswell of their own MPs already against them - just ask Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May.
Expect to see Johnson go on the attack against Keir Starmer, as is his usual method of trying to distract from the problems his own party faces in government, but Johnson may find it increasingly hard to change the topic when the conversation all week has been surrounding how long he’ll survive as Conservative leader, and hence PM.
Here's everything that you need to know about today's Prime Minister's Questions, including what you can expect to see and how you can watch it unfold live.
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What time is PMQs today?
Prime Minister’s Questions will start at the usual time of 12pm today. It’ll be interesting to see if Boris Johnson gets the usual bluster of support from his backbenches given the week we’ve just had, and so many are now on the public record as not supporting his premiership any longer.
How do I watch PMQs?
You can watch PMQs by tuning into the BBC Parliament station in iPlayer, or it will be streamed live on the UK Parliament YouTube channel if you’d prefer. How Starmer attempts to exploit Johnson’s weak position within his own parliamentary party will be of particular interest, but is likely he’ll continue to present his party as continuing to hold the moral high ground within the country, and make an argument for their strengths on this basis.
What should we expect to see at PMQs?
Expect to see Boris Johnson go on the offence against Sir Keir Starmer, as tends to be his default position for these kinds of things, and particularly so when he’s feeling the pressure personally. Johnson made the now infamous Jimmy Savile slur against Starmer during a particularly bad week of the partygate saga, so don’t rule out the PM using similar dead cat tactics to try and move the focus away from his own leadership struggles.
