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Friday, 14 February 2025 – 00:49
Boris Johnson on the phone
Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Boris Johnson survives no confidence vote

Prime Minister Boris Johnson survives no-confidence vote but is left badly wounded after more than 40% of his own MPs vote against him.

The result is significantly worse than that achieved by Theresa May in 2019, who had support from 63% of the parliamentary party. She only lasted 5 more months as prime minister.

The final result of the ballot of 359 Conservative MPs was 211 with confidence and 148 without.

The result means that he will not immediately face a leadership challenge, but will be severely damaged.

This month will also see two by-elections, with both seats currently expected to be lost. Wakefield – a former red wall seat that Johnson won in 2019 – currently has Labour with a lead of around 20%, and the Liberal Democrats being backed by many to win Tiverton and Honiton.

Both seats became vacant after sex scandals: the first involving a conviction for sexual assault, and the latter for the seat’s former MP watching pornography in the House of Commons.

Following the vote, Labour Party Keir Starmer suggested that the Conservative Party had decided to ignore the British public, with polls earlier in the day suggesting that 60% of the public thought the Prime Minister should be removed.