Politics

Read about the latest UK political news, views and analysis.

Monday

6 Jun 2022

Boris’s narrow win is bad news for the Tories

Tonight’s confidence ballot has deepened the Tories’ problem. Yes, Boris Johnson won – but by nowhere near enough to resolve the issue. His margin of victory was worse than what Theresa May achieved in 2018, and that only protected her for six months. The problem for Johnson is that the issue here is about him, not policy. So it is not as if a shift in position on a few topics could allow him to win the rebels round. Indeed, when you consider what many of the rebels have said publicly today it is pretty much impossible to see how they could stand as Tories at the next election if Johnson

Tom Goodenough

Boris survives confidence vote – for now

Boris Johnson has won a confidence vote in his leadership – but nearly 150 Tory MPs voted against him in a huge blow to the Prime Minister’s leadership. The PM won the support of 211 Conservative MPs, while 148 voted against him in the ballot of Tory MPs. The PM insisted that this was a ‘very good result for politics and for the country.’ Reacting to the ballot, Boris Johnson said: ‘What we want to do is get on’. The PM also did worse than Margaret Thatcher in her confidence vote against Michael Heseltine in 1990 Boris’s allies have rallied around the PM in the wake of the vote, with Education Secretary

Coffee House

Full list: the Tory MPs backing Boris Johnson

Graham Brady, the chair of the Tory backbench 1922 committee, has announced that Boris Johnson will face a confidence vote at 6 p.m. this evening. He told the Prime Minister yesterday that the required 54 letters had been received and that would face a vote imminently. Voting for Conservative MPs finishes at 8 p.m. and we can expect the result to be announced later this evening. Johnson will need the backing of 180 MPs to remain leader of the Conservative party. A statement from Number 10 said: ‘The PM welcomes the opportunity to make his case to MPs and will remind them that when they are united and focussed on the

Boris Johnson

‘Let us refuse to dance to the tune of the media’: Boris Johnson’s full speech to Tory MPs

Graham (Brady), many thanks for convening this meeting. And I have to tell you I am glad that this vote is finally taking place, because tonight we have a chance to end the media-driven focus on the leadership of the Conservative party. And if you will give me your support tonight, we have the chance to stop talking about ourselves and start talking exclusively about what we are doing for the people of this country. And, instead of getting into some hellish groundhog day debate about the merit of belonging to the single market relitigating questions that we settled two-and-a half years ago, we can get on. We can deliver. And we can unite. And

James Forsyth

Tonight’s vote won’t end the Tory leadership question

There’s an odd amount of unanimity in Tory circles about what is going to happen today. The precise numbers people are speculating about do vary, but there is a general sense that Boris Johnson will win this vote yet not by enough to put the leadership question to bed. The rebels, many of whom have now burnt their boats on the beach, will keep coming and everything will be about if not when the 1922 committee will change the rules to allow another vote. There is a chance that the consensus is wrong. Johnson has still to address MPs and that could shift opinion either way. Then, there is the ConservativeHome

Ross Clark

This vote marks the beginning of the end for Boris Johnson

There is a school of thought, expressed by Fraser Nelson here this morning, that the Prime Minister’s Tory opponents have shot their bolt too soon, that they should have waited for a couple of by-election defeats and for the emergence of a clear front-runner to replace Boris Johnson, before sending in their letters of no confidence. This analysis is right in that Johnson will very likely gain more votes that MPs vote against him this evening. Whether that really amounts to ‘winning’ is another matter. Historic precedence suggests that Keir Starmer is correct when he asserts that today’s confidence vote marks the beginning of the end for the Prime Minister.

Isabel Hardman

Team Boris doesn’t have long to convince the waverers

Now that the confidence vote in Boris Johnson’s leadership is on, Conservative MPs have suddenly become very busy, while senior Tories are breaking cover to declare that they no longer support the Prime Minister either. Jeremy Hunt, currently the favourite to replace Johnson with some bookies, has surprised no one by announcing that ‘today I will be voting for change’. Perhaps more surprising has been the resignation of Johnson’s anti-corruption tsar John Penrose, who sent his letter in this morning. Penrose said he couldn’t continue as an anti-corruption champion given the Prime Minister had, in his view, clearly concluded he had broken the ministerial code: As a result, I’m afraid it

Steerpike

Estonian PM: When will Macron stop talking to genocidal Putin?

Alongside Britain, Estonia has been among Kyiv’s staunchest allies in its efforts to repulse Putin’s forces, delivering more military equipment to Ukraine since February as a portion of GDP per capita than any other country in the world. Kaja Kallas, its prime minister, is in London today and spoke at her country’s embassy. She took questions on a range of topics and didn’t hold back – especially when it came to Emmanuel Macron. Kallas was very much singing from the same song-sheet as Kuleba when she effectively accused Macron of appeasing genocide He has tried to position himself as a mediator between Putin and the west throughout this conflict, only

Steerpike

Dorries goes for Hunt amid Tory civil war

Ding, ding, ding! In the blue corner, it’s Nadine Dorries, the Culture Secretary and Boris-backer par excellence. And, er, also in the blue corner, is Jeremy Hunt, her fellow Tory MP and noted Johnson critic. Ahead of tonight’s no-confidence vote, Hunt has (finally) nailed his colours to the mast and admitted he will not be voting in support of the man who he ran against in 2019. Hunt tweeted this morning that: ‘Anyone who believes our country is stronger, fairer & more prosperous when led by Conservatives should reflect that the consequence of not changing will be to hand the country to others who do not share those values. Today’s

Freddy Gray

We’ll miss Boris if he goes

Boris Johnson is often talked about as the luckiest politician on earth — and in a sense he has been. Outrageous fortune powered his ascent. A child of privilege, he always seemed to get away with it, no matter what it might be. In elections, his timing has been almost miraculously perfect, culminating in his big win over the hapless Jeremy Corbyn in 2019. But Lady Luck turns out to be the cruellest mistress Boris ever had. She built him up to tear him down. And if this ‘Jubilee Coup’ — and tonight’s vote of no confidence — end up removing him from power, he may be looked back on

James Forsyth

From now on, Boris is in a daily fight for survival

Up until now, the Tory leadership rules have protected Boris Johnson. The requirement that 15 per cent of MPs must send in a letter sets a high bar for a no-confidence ballot, as demonstrated by how long it took the rebels to get the numbers against both Johnson and May. But from now on, the rules work against him. Johnson will likely win tonight’s vote. But that does not mean he will lead the Tories into the next election The reason for this is that because the bar is so high for a no-confidence ballot it means that a substantial number of the leader’s own MPs will vote no confidence

Patrick O’Flynn

The Tories are becoming ungovernable

Today’s no-confidence vote in Boris Johnson is best seen as the next stage of a determined long-term plot to bring him down rather than as a stand-alone event. That is to say, Johnson will not be safe or restored to anything like full political health simply by winning it. Unless he triumphs by a crushing margin, he will have been further weakened and face new waves of attacks from a Labour opposition into whose lap huge amounts of extra ammunition will have been deposited by Conservative backbenchers. One can almost already hear Keir Starmer at PMQs this week making the taunting observation that ‘more than a hundred of the people

Katy Balls

Boris to face confidence vote tonight

14 min listen

Boris Johnson will face a confidence vote tonight. Announcing the news this morning, the chair of the 1922 committee Sir Graham Brady said in a statement: ‘The threshold of the 15% of the parliamentary party seeking a vote of confidence in the leader of the Conservative Party has been exceeded.’ Will he win? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman.

Robert Peston

The dilemma facing Tory MPs

There are two questions for Tory MPs today. One, do they believe that the PM will cost them or save them their seats at the next general election. Two, how pernicious to confidence in the important institutions of government is the widespread perception that the politician at its apex is dishonest. The first question is about the future of the Tory party. The other is about the future of the UK. They are of course linked. Tory critics of Mr Johnson say that he is now, in the words of one, ‘our Jeremy Corbyn’, by which they mean large numbers of potential Conservative voters will never again vote for their party

Fraser Nelson

The attempt to depose Boris may be premature

As Tory MPs vote this evening, Jesse Norman’s letter stands as the most recent case for the deposing of the Prime Minister. But the letter itself may well end up helping Boris Johnson, given its oddly weak arguments from one of the Conservative party’s big thinkers. I’m one of those who has been disappointed with the Boris project: his lockdowns (with all of the immense social damage), a tax burden at a 70-year high, a spending-splurge instinct, lack of any idea what to do with Brexit and allowing another welfare crisis to incubate due to lack of attention. But Norman mentions none of these things. And it raises questions as

Katy Balls

Boris to face confidence vote tonight

After months of anonymous threats and speculation, Boris Johnson will face a confidence vote by Tory MPs this evening. Announcing the news this morning, the chair of the 1922 committee Sir Graham Brady said in a statement: ‘The threshold of the 15% of the parliamentary party seeking a vote of confidence in the leader of the Conservative Party has been exceeded. The vote presents a moment of peril for Johnson. In accordance with the rules, a ballot will be held between 18:00 and 20:00 today MONDAY 6th JUNE – details to be confirmed.’ So, what comes next? No. 10 have chosen to move quickly – as Theresa May did when she

Jesse Norman

Why I can no longer support Boris Johnson

Dear Boris, As you know, I have supported you throughout your career in politics: for Mayor of London in 2008 and 2012, and for Leader in 2016 and 2019. As Prime Minister, you have been dealt a very difficult hand with Covid and Ukraine, and you deserve great credit for much of the way in which the Government has handled these twin crises. Your recent visit to Kyiv was a conspicuous act of leadership. When I stepped down from the Treasury last September, you raised the topic of the next reshuffle, and we discussed the potential for me to run a department of state. I have always been deeply committed

Sunday

5 Jun 2022

Steerpike

Will a Jubilee coup topple Boris?

Long to reign over us? That’s the question Conservative MPs are pondering this weekend about their leader Boris Johnson. The boos and jeers that greeted him at St Paul’s on Friday were in stark contrast to the warmth and affection exhibited towards the Queen all week. It’s prompted several nervy Tories to consider putting in their letter of no-confidence to Sir Graham Brady – the chairman of the 1922 committee – amid much talk about whether the magic threshold of 54 letters has finally been reached. It has previously been suggested that Sir Graham would not make such an announcement until after the Jubilee festivities had concluded. Will tomorrow be

Liam Duffy

Prevent and the problem of ‘political correctness’

Britain is reviewing its cornerstone anti-terror programme. As the name implies, Prevent is a strategy designed to stop radicalisation before it metastasises into killer intent. But how well is it working? There have been accusations that Prevent is discriminatory. Groups such as Liberty and the Muslim Council of Britain have criticised the anti-terror strategy for targetting Muslims, arguing that it has caused hurt to Britain’s Islamic communities. But there are also criticisms that, even on its own terms, the Home Office programme isn’t working as well as it should. Dame Sara Khan, the social cohesion tsar, last week warned that efforts to tackle Islamist extremism are being hampered by ‘political

Patrick O’Flynn

Is the fall of Boris inevitable?

A funny thing happened on the way to the cathedral for the service of thanksgiving to the Queen on Friday. It wasn’t just that Boris Johnson got booed, it was also that Sadiq Khan got cheered. GB News solemnly reported that the Mayor of London ‘received extensive cheers from members of the public who were adorned with Union Jack hats and flags’. So who were these royalist admirers of Mr Khan and detractors of Mr Johnson? I don’t know and neither do you. Given that the mayor secured an underwhelming vote share last year and is one of Labour’s most partisan figures, it seems a stretch to think of him