Prime Minister Boris Johnson survives vote of no confidence by Tory MPs

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has survived vote of no confidence by Tory MPs – with several Lancashire MPs backing him.
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Defence Secretary and Wyre and Preston North MP Ben Wallace was among those who publicly backed Johnson in the Monday night confidence vote.

Morecambe MP David Morris has also put his backing behind him.

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Despite the win, the Prime Minister’s authority has been dealt a significant blow.

Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson
Boris Johnson

Tory MPs voted by 211 to 148 in support of the Prime Minister but the scale of the revolt against his leadership leaves him wounded.

When Theresa May faced a confidence vote in 2018 she secured the support of 63% of her MPs - but was still forced out within six months.

Mr Johnson saw 41% of his MPs vote against him, a worse result than Mrs May.

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The Prime Minister made a last-ditch plea to Tory MPs to back him, promising future tax cuts and highlighting his own record of electoral success.

But with concern over the partygate scandal, economic policy, drifting opinion polls and Mr Johnson's style of leadership, the Prime Minister faced a difficult task to persuade his doubters.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said it is "time to get back to the job of governing" after the vote.

The Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire tweeted: "The person Starmer doesn't want to face at an election is Boris Johnson who secured the biggest Conservative majority since 1987 and the highest share of the vote (43.6 per cent) of any party since 1979, with 14 million votes.

"Time to get back to the job of governing."

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Liz Truss and Michael Gove have tweeted their support for Boris Johnson after his victory in Monday's confidence vote.

The Foreign Secretary tweeted: "Pleased that colleagues have backed the Prime Minister.

The Housing Secretary said it is time to "focus on the people's priorities" now that the Prime Minister has "secured" the trust of his MPs.

The Wyre and Preston North MP and cabinet member Ben Wallace emerged as an early supporter after news broke that the Tory backbench 1922 committee had received enough calls to trigger a no-confidence vote on the leadership of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

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The Wyre and Preston North MP tweeted: “In 2019 Boris won with a majority of 80. He has delivered victories in seats we have never held before. On Covid, on Ukraine he has helped deliver a world leading response. He has my full confidence.”

Meanwhile Ribble Valley Conservative MP and Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans said he was unable to comment because of his role as Deputy Speaker. Today he was assessing opinion in his constituency. He said: "I will be voting but I'm taking soundings from my members. As Deputy Speaker I won't be making any public announcements one way or the other."

He added: “I've had a couple of calls already from two of my councillors. I'm taking on board what they say."

Morecambe and Lunesdale MP David Morris told us he was unable to comment due to being a member of the 1922 committee. He said: "I’m part of the process of whatever is going to happen later on. It would just compromise the process."

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He then tweeted that he had, in fact, backed the Prime Minister.

Earlier, Scott Benton, Conservative MP for Blackpool South made his support for Boris Johnson public. He tweeted: “The Prime Minister has my full support. Mistakes in No 10 have been made but there is no doubt that Boris is the best person to face the challenges that lie ahead. I urge colleagues to come together and get behind him.

He continued: "Boris is a proven winner. He’s delivered Brexit, got us through Covid and is delivering support to tackle the cost of living. Make no mistake, many in the red wall voted specifically for Boris in 2019 - no other Tory leader could reach the parts of the country he has.”

A spokesman for Paul Maynard, Conservative MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys, said the MP was not commenting in advance of the vote.