Enough Tory MPs have requested a vote of confidence in Boris Johnson to trigger a contest, chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady has announced.
A vote will now take place at 6pm tonight, in accordance with the Tory party's rules.Â
The result is due to be announced at 9pm, with Mr Johnson informed shortly beforehand by text message.
Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, said in a statement: âThe threshold of 15% of the parliamentary party seeking a vote of confidence in the leader of the Conservative Party has been exceeded.
âIn accordance with the rules, a ballot will be held between 1800 and 2000 TODAY MONDAY 6th JUNE â details to be confirmed.
âThe votes will be counted immediately afterwards. An announcement will be made at a time to be advised. Arrangements for the announcement will be released later today.â
Downing Street said Boris Johnson âwelcomes the opportunity to make his case to MPsâ, with a No 10 spokeswoman saying tonightâs vote was âa chance to end months of speculation and allow the Government to draw a line and move onâ.
Will the Prime Minister be waving goodbye?
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he thinks Boris Johnson will win the confidence vote and it will âdraw a lineâ under division over his leadership.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4âs Today programme, he said: âIf he wins then that draws a line under this.â
Pressed on whether it will bring closure and unite the Conservative Party, Mr Javid said: âIf he wins, then thatâs a win â and by the way I do think he will win, but thatâs obviously a decision for all my colleagues.
âBut at that point we draw a line under this because thatâs, I think, more than anything, that is what the country wants to see.â
âIs it right to have a vote? As I say, thatâs a decision for my colleagues, I have full respect for them,â he added.
âWe have this vote but, as a democratic party, you follow the rules and a win is a win and then we unite behind our leader and keep on delivering â thatâs what this is about.â
Earlier, Mr Javid defended Boris Johnson, saying he is âdeliveringâ for the country and would still go on to win a general election.
After being played a clip of crowds booing Mr Johnson outside St Paulâs Cathedral on the weekend, the Health Secretary told BBC Breakfast: âIâm not aware of any politician that has ever received universal love.
âPoliticians are booed or cheered at different times. What matters is delivery and Boris Johnson is a prime minister who is delivering.
Mr Javid went on to say Mr Johnson saved the country from âthe threat of Corbynismâ as he led the Conservatives to a huge majority in the 2019 general election.
He said: âI think that he will deliver for this country and I think he would go on to win a general election with an ambitious program for continuous improvements, whether itâs to our health service, to housing, to the cost-of-living challenges, you know, and heâs getting on with the job at the moment.â
Conservative MP Michael Fabricant, who has thrown his support behind the Prime Minister, also said he thinks Boris Johnson will win a vote no of confidence.
Asked on Times Radio if the PM will win, the Lichfield MP said: âI think he is going to win.
âI think that something like two-thirds of the party will vote to support him and I really do wonder why itâs happening at this time.
âI mean, if I was planning a palace coup, I wouldnât be doing it at this time. I think itâs not been well planned.â
Mr Fabricant went on to compare the situation to the confidence vote which Theresa May won, saying: âIâve got a feeling thatâs whatâs going to happen this time too â and so it should.â
A No 10 spokeswoman said: âTonight is a chance to end months of speculation and allow the Government to draw a line and move on, delivering on the peopleâs priorities.
âThe PM welcomes the opportunity to make his case to MPs and will remind them that when theyâre united and focused on the issues that matter to voters there is no more formidable political force.â
Â
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.Â
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.Â
That is invaluable.Â
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalistâs job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readersâ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readersâ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the âreport this postâ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel