LONDON — Boris Johnson is alive and well — at least for now.
Monday’s confidence vote by British lawmakers was narrowly in favor of the prime minister. This left him with a damaged reputation, but still in power. His ruling Conservative Party is bitterly divided over its once-talismanic leader, who has been plagued with scandal.
Johnson, 57, won the support of over 50 percent of party members in a secret ballot in Parliament. After 54 Conservative MPs had written to Johnson requesting his departure, more than 15% of Conservative members of Parliament voted for him to be reelected.
He has been granted a reprieve but the real question in Westminster will be how long he can stay.
The sheer anger in Johnson’s party was exposed by the vote. Many Tories, like the rest of us, are angered at the revelations that Johnson’s government members held several illicit, boozy parties during Covid-19 lockdowns – violating the same restrictions they had ordered the rest to follow.
Johnson, a man critics say has a history of saying things that are not true and has repeatedly denied that such parties ever took place, has added to the anger.
Johnson is technically protected from being challenged for another year under Conservative Party rules. These rules could and have been modified in the past. Even in victory, he is still politically wounded, possibly even mortally.
His predecessors Theresa May (2019) and Margaret Thatcher (90), won confidence votes, but were forced to resign when those ballots revealed a level of internal resistance that rendered their positions untenable.
John Major, the then-Prime Minister, was able to win his vote in 1995, only for it to be overthrown by the Labour Party in a landslide 2 years later.
The party seems to have been driven largely by electoral calculus.
Johnson’s approval ratings are down due to the “partygate” scandal. Current polling shows that many Conservative lawmakers will lose their seats as a result. It is expected that the party will lose two seats and receive two votes in the next month.
The government’s investigation revealed that there was a culture of alcohol-fueled parties at No. 10 Downing St. is the central office of the government and the residence of the prime minister. There are punch-ups and vomit all over the walls.
Staff left the building at 4 AM for another event. This was just hours before the Queen was forced to be alone at the funeral of Prince Philip because of Covid restrictions.
A Metropolitan Police investigation resulted in 126 fines being imposed on 83 individuals, including Johnson and his spouse. He was the first British prime minister to be found guilty of violating the law.
After Johnson and his wife Carrie were booed outside St. Paul’s Cathedral as they arrived at a Platinum Jubilee celebration, the national anger grew even more.
However, it’s not just partygate which causes anger.
Johnson was already facing sleaze accusations. His government has been criticised over plans to override the Brexit deal it made in Northern Ireland. It also attempted to centralize power away form Parliament and its policy of sending refugees to Rwanda.
