Confidence vote for British PM may be launched on June 6

The procedure for a vote of confidence in the leader of the Conservative Party and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson can be launched as early as June 6, UK editor for ITV news Paul Brand tweeted, Report informs.

“Tory rebels expect Sir Graham Brady to make a statement this morning announcing that there will be a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson. Only Brady knows the exact details, but this is as certain as anyone has sounded that a vote is on.

If the format follows previous occasions then Sir Graham Brady will make a short statement to the cameras. A secret ballot of Tory MPs would then follow within days. It’s only happening when Sir Graham Brady says so, but like I say this is sounding pretty imminent,” he wrote.

The vote itself could take place this week.

In this case, the prime minister will need majority of votes (180 or more), after which he will be protected from repeating a similar demarche for at least a year. According to The Sunday Times, about 190 parliamentarians from the ruling party may speak in favor of changing the leader. In the event of the defeat of the head of government, new leader elections will take place, for which three months are allotted.

Dissatisfaction with the current prime minister among party members intensified following an internal investigation by Cabinet Office staff member Sue Gray into parties at Johnson’s residence during the height of coronavirus lockdowns in 2020-2021. In a report published at the end of May, Gray concluded that top management should be held accountable for this practice.

The prime minister paid a fine for attending one of the parties and issued an apology, but refused to resign, as the opposition called for, or fire anyone. Johnson expressed the opinion that it would be irresponsible for him to leave the post in the midst of the conflict in Ukraine.