Boris Johnson appears to be heading for the most serious challenge to his tenure as British prime minister. Media reports on Wednesday claimed about 20 MPs of his Conservative party could submit letters expressing no confidence in him following the reports of his attendance at parties that violated Covid lockdown rules. For a no-confidence vote to be held, a minimum of 54 of the 360 Conservative MPs would need to submit letters to a party committee.
Wales Online reported, “A number of MPs have already submitted their own letters to the 1922 Committee—formally known as the Conservative Private Members’ Committee. If 54 Conservative MPs write to the chairman of the committee calling for a vote, it could happen within hours. Between 20 and 30 MPs are already reported to have submitted their letters, so 20 more today could trigger the vote—or come very close.”
The Daily Telegraph and ITV News reported the required number of letters to force a vote could be reached on Wednesday.
The BBC reported that a leadership contest could come “sooner than later”. The BBC noted that a group of young Conservative MPs, who were first elected in 2019, had met on Tuesday to discuss the issue of Johnson's future and on seeking a no-confidence vote against him.
However, many Conservative figures have indicated they would wait for the findings of an inquiry into the parties attended by Johnson. “A senior civil servant Sue Gray is investigating about a dozen allegations of rule-breaking by Johnson, his team and officials at 10 Downing Street or other government buildings between May 2020 and April 2021, when Covid-19 rules limited how many people could meet socially,” Reuters reported.
