Boris Johnson says no-confidence vote win ‘decisive’ despite mass Tory rebellion
Boris Johnson is set to meet his cabinet today as he aims to “move on” from the bruising vote of confidence amid mass Tory rebellion against him.
The prime minister insisted he secured a “decisive” victory even as 148 of his own MPs voted to oust him.
Having secured the support of 211 parliamentarians, Mr Johnson told broadcasters he had a “far bigger mandate” than he did when voted in as leader in 2019, adding he was “happy with that”.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said the British public was “fed up” with a prime minister that promised big and failed to deliver and who had “presided over a culture of lies and law-breaking in parliament”.
Despite the victory on Monday night, Mr Johnson faces an uncertain political future. A steady stream of Tory MPs have called publicly for him to stand down in the wake of Sue Gray’s report into breaches of the Covid-19 regulations in No 10 and Whitehall.
Third of cash raised by Sunak’s windfall levy ‘could be handed back to oil and gas firms’ in tax breaks
A third or more of any revenue raised by the chancellor’s new windfall tax on oil and gas profits could be handed back to the firms in tax breaks, according to analysis by the Labour Party.
Submitting an urgent question in parliament on Monday, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the government’s decision to introduce the levy last month was a “welcome U-turn” but added that Rishi Sunak had also “created a tax giveaway for oil and gas producers that undermines it”.
Mr Sunak recently announced a temporary 25 per cent windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas companies to help support struggling households with the cost of living crisis gripping the UK.
Read the details in this report by our climate correspondent Saphora Smith:
Namita Singh7 June 2022 05:47
What happens next?
The prime minister has insisted that a confidence vote which saw almost 150 of his own MPs try to force him from the helm of the Conservative party was a “decisive” victory for him.
Despite winning tonight’s ballot by 211 votes to 148, Boris Johnson has found himself in the eye of a revolt against his premiership, the scale of which far surpassed the expectations of Mr Johnson’s allies – failing to put to bed questions over his leadership.
But, ever brazen, the prime minister told reporters in No 10: “I think it’s an extremely good, positive, conclusive, decisive result which enables us to move on, to unite and to focus on delivery and that is exactly what we are going to do.”
Despite winning today’s vote, Mr Johnson finds himself in perilous territory, reports my colleague Emily Atkinson:
Namita Singh7 June 2022 05:01
‘Boris Johnson should exit no 10,’ says Hague
Former Conservative leader William Hague demanded Boris Johnson quits his premiership arguing that he had experienced a “greater level of rejection” in the confidence vote than any of his predecessors.
Mr Johnson, who won the ballot by 211 to 148, saw 41 per cent of his MPs vote against him, compared to Theresa May who secured the support of 63 per cent of her MPs.
“While Johnson has survived the night, the damage done to his premiership is severe,” Lord Hague wrote in The Times.
Read More: Boris Johnson latest news: PM to meet cabinet as he seeks to ‘move on’ amid major rebellion