AN MP says he is backing Boris Johnson after a vote of no-confidence in the Prime Minister today.
Braintree MP James Cleverly said he is standing by his Conservative party leader amid the vote, which is expected to have a result today.
Pressure for Mr Johnson to resign had been growing since revelations about the ‘partygate’ scandal released by the Sue Gray report last month.
It was announced by Sir Graham Brady the vote had been triggered after the required 54 Tory MPs – 15 per cent of the elected Conservative politicians - called for the no-confidence vote.
Should the vote of no confidence fail, it would see Mr Johnson safe from being challenged again for another 12 months until a fresh no-confidence vote could be launched.
However, it the vote is a success, and enough Tory MPs vote to oust the Prime Minister in a secret ballot, it would trigger a leadership election which would see Mr Johnson replaced.
In the leadership election, Boris Johnson would not be allowed to stand again to regain his position as Conservative party leader and therefore Prime Minister.
If Boris Johnson is to win, he must secure a majority of votes from Conservative MPs.
A result is now expected between 6pm and 8pm today (June 6).
Many Conservative MP rallied to Mr Johnson’s side, including Colchester MP Will Quince and Witham MP and Home Secretary Priti Patel.
Mr Cleverly, who serves as Minister of State of the United Kingdom for Europe and North America, nailed his colours to the mast after tweeting his support of the Prime Minister.
The 52-year-old MP said: “Boris won London twice - both against expectations - and then governed brilliantly.
“He took us from under 10 per cent in an election to an 80-seat majority, delivered Brexit, vaccine roll-out, support for Ukraine, extra cops, docs, nurses etc etc.
“I’m not going to go flaky on him now.”
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