Damaged, Boris Johnson of England won the party confidence vote

LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson escaped a vote of no confidence on Monday, but a major uprising in his Conservative party known as the “Party Gate” scandal was a blow to his power and a struggle to win. Post support.

Johnson, who won a landslide victory in 2019, has been under a lot of pressure since he and his staff held alcohol-burning parties at his Downing Street office and home when Britain was locked up to deal with the COVID-19 epidemic.

The referendum was a blow to Johnson, with 41% of his lawmakers voting against his leadership, and after months of scandal and scandal, raised questions about his authority to rule Britain and knocked out his position among the public.

But Johnson, a mastermind of political comebacks, instead described the referendum as a “decisive decision” meaning that “as a government we can move on and focus on what I think is most important to the people.”

“We can focus on what we do to help people at the cost of living, what we do to get rid of the covetous backlocks, and what we do to make the streets and communities safer by getting more police out there,” Johnson said. , Who has been trying to move the national conversation “from partygate” for weeks. read more

This underscores the change of fortune that befell Johnson and the depth of the anger against him. At events celebrating the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth in recent days she met with mockery and booze and some muted cheers.

With many lawmakers, 211 lawmakers voted 148 in favor of Johnson, worse than a prime minister would have expected, after seemingly winning a landslide victory over the Conservatives more than thirty years at a time.

“Boris Johnson will be relieved in this referendum, but he understands that rebuilding the party’s unity is the next priority,” former minister David Jones told Reuters. “I hope he will be equal to the challenge.”

Others were less optimistic, a Conservative lawmaker said anonymously: “It’s worse than most people expected. But it’s too soon to say what will happen now.”

Roger Gale, Johnson’s longtime critic, urged the Prime Minister to “return to Downing Street tonight and consider where he is going from here.”

12-month grace period

By winning the confidence vote, Johnson was given 12 months to come up with another challenge for lawmakers. But her predecessor Theresa May resigned six months after her 2018 confidence vote. read more

Dozens of Conservative lawmakers have expressed concern that Johnson, 57, has lost control of Britain in the face of the recession, rising fuel and food prices and the risk of travel disruption caused by the strike in the capital, London.

But his cabinet rallied around him and highlighted what they said were government victories: the rapid release of the COVID-19 vaccine and Britain’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A majority of the Conservative legislature – at least 180 – must vote against Johnson’s removal.

Earlier, a spokesman for Johnson’s Downing Street office said the referendum would “allow the government to draw a line” and that the prime minister would welcome the opportunity to present his case to lawmakers. read more

Johnson, the former mayor of London, came to power in Westminster in the face of the Brexit campaign in the 2016 referendum and won the 2019 election with the slogan “Brexit must be done and finished”.

Brexit Minister Jacob Reese-Mock told Sky News that Britain’s exit from the EU would be “in grave danger without his motivation and energy.”

Johnson horned with Brussels over Northern Ireland, threatening further sanctions on British trade and the dangers of the 1998 peace treaty, threatening leaders in Ireland, Europe and the United States.

But the real damage came when months of stories, including fights on Downing Street and alcohol-induced vomiting, prevented many from saying goodbye to loved ones at the funeral.

The move led to revelations that legislators from various sections of the party had turned against their leader. A former ally has accused the government of insulting voters and the party by continuing as prime minister.

“You are leading a culture of violating the common law on 10 Downing Street in relation to COVID,” former junior minister Jesse Norman said before the vote.

Johnson’s anti – corruption leader John Benrose also resigned.

Reported by Elizabeth Piper and Andrew MacArthur; Additional Reporting by David Milligan, William James, Alistair Smout, Farouk Suleiman and Helena Williams; Editing: William Schomberg and Grand McCauley

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