Britain: Johnson survives no-confidence vote after 'Partygate' scandal

In a move his spokesman described as an opportunity to "turn the page", British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday narrowly avoided a vote of no-confidence against elected members of the Conservative Party.

And 54 lawmakers from his party launched the move in the wake of a series of resounding scandals after violating the closure measures in "Downing Street" known as "Party Gate".

Ahead of the vote, an Opinion poll showed that 59 percent of voters believed the Conservative Party should abandon him as leader.

After 54 lawmakers from his party launched the move in the wake of a series of scandals, Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a confidence vote on Monday, overcoming a challenge to his leadership from lawmakers from within the ruling Conservative Party.

According to Graham Brady, chairman of the party committee that oversaw the ballot, 211 Conservative MPs voted with Johnson to remain in office, compared to 148 rejected in a secret ballot, allowing him to remain at the head of the party and retain his position as prime minister.

Johnson has resisted for months calls for his resignation, after he became the first British prime minister to break the law while in office, following the scandal known as "Party Gate".

In a book he sent to his deputies, Johnson defended his accomplishments during his tenure, including Brexit, fighting the Covid pandemic and supporting Ukraine.

"Tonight we have a chance to end weeks of media speculation and move this country forward, now, as a united party," he wrote before meeting Tory MPs in person ahead of the vote.

But the extent of the rift in the Conservative Party was shown in a scathing resignation letter from "anti-corruption champion" John Penrose and another letter of protest from Johnson's longtime ally Jesse Norman.

Norman wrote that the prime minister's denial of Party Gate was "abhorrent", warning that the Conservative Party risked losing the next general election due by 2024.

After disappointing results in local elections in May, the party is expected to lose in by-elections that include two districts this month, one of which was a guaranteed seat for the Conservatives.

Ahead of Monday's vote, an Opinion poll showed that 59 percent of voters believed the Conservative Party should abandon him as leader.

Among conservatives, the rate is 34%.

Johnson was greeted with jeers on Friday from crowds gathered outside St Paul's Cathedral, before a mass marking the platinum jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

Conservative Party member Jacob Rees-Mogg, an ally of the prime minister, dismissed the boos and insisted Johnson could stay with the smallest majority possible.

He told "Sky News" that voting in itself constitutes a "political routine", rejecting the minimum that was reached to organize the vote as a "relatively low and accessible one."

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