After months of frying with the revelation of the scandal known as “partygate”, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, obtained an important relief this Monday (6) in the biggest crisis of his term so far. The politician managed to win the vote of no confidence that his own party, the Conservative Party, called against him, and will remain in the post of prime minister.
Boris needed the vote of 180 of the party’s 359 lawmakers to remain in office — otherwise, a weeks-long process would begin to elect a new British head of government. The vote on Monday ended with 211 votes in favor of the prime minister, against 148 against.
The consultation was made after 54 coreligionists — 15% of the Conservative caucus — sent letters requesting a vote to the so-called 1922 Committee. The last one needed to complete the list arrived on Sunday night (5), when Boris was notified, according to Graham Brady, that preside over the organ.
At least 40 lawmakers had publicly called for Boris to step down in recent weeks, but the latest applicants, Brady explained, sent their letters only in the last few days because they insisted that the vote be held only after Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. , organized from Thursday (2) to Sunday.
The queen, in the closing speech of the celebrations for her 70 years of reign, asked that the feeling of unity prevail in the country.
The prime minister’s office, through a spokesman, had said Monday’s vote was an opportunity for Boris to present his arguments to lawmakers and a chance to “end months of speculation”.
Boris came into the crosshairs of his co-religionists after participating in a series of parties in Downing Street, the seat of the UK government, at times when England was undergoing restrictions to contain the Covid pandemic. The episodes became known as “partygate” and were investigated by the London police and the government itself.
The scandal has taken shape over the last few months as revelations based on photos of the events were interspersed with apologies from the politician — to Parliament, to the Queen herself, to the English. When asked in parliament in December about reports of a party in Downing Street, the prime minister said he was sure “the rules were followed at all times”.
With the worsening of the crisis, in January he apologized for the first time for participating in one of the meetings during the lockdown. At the time, he said he believed it was a work event – ​​since the garden of the official residence works, according to him, as an extension of the office.
Later, he also apologized to Elizabeth II about one of his team’s parties, held on the eve of the funeral of her husband, Prince Philip. According to the British Telegraph, cabinet officials broke confinement rules, drank alcohol and danced until late at the farewell of communications director James Slack and a photographer.
The prime minister and his wife were even fined for his birthday party. British police issued more than 126 such punishments in connection with the events at the British administration headquarters. Despite this development, Boris always denied the possibility of resigning from the post.
The opposition hoped to enforce the parliamentary code, according to which knowingly deceiving lawmakers is an offense that must result in resignation. Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labor Party, late last month accused the prime minister of lying. “Boris Johnson has repeatedly stated that he knew nothing about breaking the law — now there is no doubt that he lied,” she said. “He made the rules and then he broke them.”
Requests for resignation also came from members of the party itself. Former Conservative Party leader Mark Harper, for example, wrote on social media that he no longer thought the politician was “worthy of the office he holds” after the latest reveal of photos of the events, obtained by ITV News. The footage, allegedly taken during a meeting honoring former communications director Lee Cain, shows Boris making a toast while holding a glass.
The country’s economic situation also hurt Boris. The UK faces a cost-of-living crisis driven by rising inflation, which in April reached its highest level in more than 40 years. Defeats of his Conservative Party in regional elections indicated the point that political attrition was reaching – even if the setback was more in the symbolic field, since the thousands of seats in municipal and district councils do not, in theory, have a direct impact on national politics. .
Boris’s predecessor in office, fellow conservative Theresa May, was brought to a vote of confidence in December 2018, in a twist that revolved around Britain’s separation from the European Union (EU), Brexit. She won the vote by 200 votes to 117.
Wear, however, was inevitable, and the prime minister saw her base of support collapse. A few months later, in May of the following year, May resigned.
