Picture : Twitter / ANI
In what is seen as a huge sigh of relief, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has survived a vote of confidence in his leadership, as 211 Conservative Party members of Parliament voted in favour of him staying on as their leader.
But the end result, which Johnson insisted was decisively in his favour, saw as many as 148 Tory members of Parliament voting against him — a 58.8 per cent for versus 41.2 per cent against.
As per report by PTI, That figure led to his critics branding it a damaging outcome for his long-term future as the party leader, while his supporters point out he has the backing of a majority of his party.
“I think this is a very good result for politics and for the country,” said Johnson, in reaction to the ballot.
The vote is held as a secret ballot, with 180 being the cut off for Johnson to win the challenge – given the halfway mark of the Tory parliamentary party membership of 359 if abstentions are not taken into account.
We need to come together as a party and focus on what this government is doing to help people with the cost of living, to clear the COVID backlogs and to make our streets safer.
We will continue to unite, level up and strengthen our economy. pic.twitter.com/vIWK81dDJC
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) June 6, 2022
His allies had been keen to stress that a victory in the contest, even by just one vote, would put a rest to an issue that has overshadowed the government’s focus on other pressing political concerns.
“Tonight is a chance to end months of speculation and allow the government to draw a line and move on, delivering on the people’s priorities,” the Downing Street said in a statement.
