BORIS Johnson will face a vote of confidence by Tory MPs on Monday evening as discontent over the lockdown-busting parties in No 10 and the direction of the Prime Minister’s leadership reached a tipping point.
The Prime Minister was informed on Sunday that he would face the vote after Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee, confirmed he had received the 54 letters from Conservative MPs needed to trigger the ballot.
A steady stream of Tory MPs called publicly for the Prime Minister to stand down in the wake of Sue Gray’s report into breaches of the Covid regulations in No 10 and Whitehall.
But discontent goes far wider, covering the Prime Minister’s economic policies which have seen the tax burden reach the highest in 70 years, as well as his style of leadership.
In order to oust the Prime Minister, however, the rebels will need 180 MPs, and allies of Johnson made clear he is determined to fight to stay on.
When will we find out the result of the no confidence vote?
The vote – by secret ballot – will take place at Westminster on Monday night between 6 pm and 8pm, with the count to take place immediately after.
1922 Committee chair Brady said in a statement: “The votes will be counted immediately afterwards."
The result of the confidence vote will be announced at 9pm, Brady said later.
Where will the vote take place?
Johnson’s fate will be decided in Committee Room 10, deep within the Palace of Westminster, where Tory MPs cast their votes.
The MPs have been ordered to surrender their phones to preserve the secrecy of the confidence vote process after two broke the rules to take photos of their ballot papers during the 2018 decision on Theresa May’s leadership, a Conservative source said.
MPs will file through the committee room between 6pm and 8pm to vote with the ballots then counted by the officers of the 1922 Committee.
The Prime Minister will be informed of the result shortly before the formal announcement, which will be made just down the committee corridor in Room 14 at 9pm.
MPs unable to vote in person will be able to nominate a proxy to cast their ballot.
The whole process will be overseen by Brady, who said he runs a “tight ship” – he was also in that position when May faced the same ordeal during her turbulent leadership.
Should Johnson lose the confidence vote then his leadership of the Tory party will end – triggering a contest to replace him which could last for around two months, as the process which led to his election did.
However, that process could be significantly curtailed, as it was when May became prime minister and her final rival Andrea Leadsom dropped out.
