12 JULY 2022 | NEWS
The Labour Party is to push for a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister’s Government following his resignation.
Party leader Sir Keir Starmer wishes to table the motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister’s leadership after members of the Tory Party expressed dissatisfaction with the Prime Minister’s leadership.
The motion will be tabled later today, with the vote expected to take place on Wednesday.
Despite resigning as Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has said he will continue in his post until September. This vote of no confidence will seek to place pressure on the Prime Minister to resign earlier than his deadline. If the Prime Minister loses he vote of no confidence, it would be expected that would depart immediately.
While any MP can call a vote of no confidence, such a vote may not always be granted. However, convention dictates that should the Leader of the Opposition call a vote of no confidence in the Government, a vote will be held on the Prime Minister’s leadership
It is expected that the Government will win the vote, as Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party still commands a large majority in the House of Commons despite the announcement of his resignation last Thursday.
Sir Keir Starmer said that the vote would be an attempt to stop Boris Johnson “clinging on for a few months”.
The Leader of the Opposition said of the Prime Minister last week: “He’s inflicted lies, fraud and chaos in the country.
“If they don’t get rid of him, then Labour will step up, in the national interest, and bring a vote of no confidence, because we can’t go on with this Prime Minister clinging on for months and months to come.”
Labour’s Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury, James Murray, said: “I just don’t think anyone feels comfortable with leaving Boris Johnson in a position as Prime Minister, particularly with summer – Parliament doesn’t serve over summer so it’s very hard to keep scrutiny on what he’s doing.
“We would love a General Election … we want that to happen as soon as possible. But this is an opportunity primarily to get rid of Boris Johnson and so Conservative MPs, if they really mean it, they think Boris Johnson is not fit to hold office and they want him out, this is an opportunity for them to get him out.”
If a confidence vote in the Government is lost, this would normally mean a General Election. According to opinion polling from Opinium, it is likely that an election would remove the Conservatives from power.
Consequently, it is highly improbable that sufficient Conservative backbenchers would back an Opposition motion of no confidence in the governing party with the race to become the next Prime Minister underway. However, the SNP and the Liberal Democrats have said that they will back the no confidence motion.
