This victory in the confidence vote is not the end of the story. On the contrary. The past has taught us that votes won can leave deep wounds. Margaret Thatcher won a confidence vote at the end of 1990, but this victory was so narrow that a few days later she still tearfully bid farewell to an 11-year premiership. Theresa May also won a No Confidence vote three years ago, 200 to 117, only to announce her departure less than six months later. Whether Johnson, her nemesis, keeps the honor to herself remains to be seen. He is determined to keep fighting as prime minister.
Johnson’s position was already precarious when the first reports appeared late last year about the drink culture on Downing Street while the rest of the nation was in lockdown. At the beginning of this year, dozens of letters were sent to faction leader Graham Brady, but the uprising was silenced when Russia invaded Ukraine. After the publication of the Sue Gray report on Partygate, in which Johnson was held responsible, the discussion flared up again. Before the anniversary parade for Elizabeth II on Sunday, the prime minister was told that the 54 letters – 15 percent of the group – needed for a confidence vote had been received.
Several Conservative MPs had noticed during the festivities in their constituencies that there is still a lot of dissatisfaction about the ignoring of the lockdown rules and the subsequent spin about it. It didn’t help that the Queen was the center of the public eye for the past four days; the elderly Elizabeth, who, because of Johnson’s restrictions, was unable to bid a dignified farewell to the man she had been married to for 73 years. The image of the lonely grieving queen is at odds with the photos of the cozy scenes in the official residence: the cheese boards, the Abba music, the trolleys full of alcoholic drinks.
boo
A grim sign for Johnson was the booing sounded Friday as Johnson entered St Paul’s Cathedral with his wife, Carrie, to attend the service for the Queen’s Jubilee. The booers were not left-wing activists, but pro-royal Brits, the home crowd of the Conservatives. At that service he read a piece from the Philippians on the value of speaking the truth, a scripture selected by the Palace. The Queen is reportedly unimpressed by her fourteenth prime minister, whose official residence was still decorated with royal flags on Doomsday Monday.
After serving the royal parade, ‘Team Boris’ met for emergency consultation. The Prime Minister decided to ask Group leader Brady to hold the vote as soon as possible, indicating that he wants to continue with the order of the day: after Get Brexit Done was it this time Get the Vote Done† It was decided to make some major policy proposals later this week. For example, the Conservatives want to give British people who live in social housing the right to buy their house, a Thatcherian idea. Johnson’s opponents have already threatened to vote against any government proposal until the prime minister resigns.
Quarrel at Conservatives
In defending their leader, Johnson’s supporters pointed out that he has done well on the big files: he pushed through Brexit, made England the first country to open during the corona crisis thanks to vaccination success and emerged as the Ukrainian leader’s best partner Volodymyr Zelensky. His fans take for granted that Johnson does not always speak the truth, runs a state household owned by Jan Steen and has problems with integrity. Within the party, however, there are fears that these weaknesses are causing irreparable damage to the Conservative Party, the ‘natural governing party’.
The leadership crisis is causing internal squabbles. That emerged after Jeremy Hunt, who lost the leadership battle in 2019, declared that he would vote against Johnson. It sparked an unparalleled counterattack from Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Nadine Dorries, Johnson’s most staunch supporter in the cabinet. She revealed via Twitter that Hunt, a former health minister, had suggested to her plans during the corona crisis to fight the virus the Chinese way, complete with detaining infected civilians in special encampments.
Hunt is waiting for the premiership. There is much speculation about other candidates for leadership. Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has always been seen as a favourite, but he has been damaged by his wife’s tax woes. In any case, his wealth, and that of his wife, come in handy in these tight times. His colleague from the Foreign Office, Liz Truss, is eager to join, but is regarded by colleagues as a lightweight. An outsider is Defense Minister Ben Wallace, a solid and experienced politician, who plays a prominent role in the Ukraine crisis. Wallace was Johnson’s mentor for many years.
Midterm elections
During Monday, Johnson’s chances of survival rose slightly when it became known that members of the Conservative Party, who had elected Johnson by a large majority three years ago, want the prime minister, who will be celebrating his 58th birthday in two weeks, to remain in office. . An advantage for a sitting prime minister is normally the support of all faction members who hold positions within the government. The next test for Johnson is the two midterm elections later this month. Then it remains to be seen whether he is still that ballot box gun of yesteryear. If not, he is no longer useful to the Conservatives.