British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to meet his Cabinet on Tuesday as he seeks to keep his premiership afloat by putting a bruising confidence ballot firmly behind him, writes news agency MIA.
The prime minister insisted he had secured a “decisive” victory despite 148 of his own MPs voting to oust him on Monday night, arguing the government could now “move on” and focus on what “really matters to people.”
He also poured cold water on the prospect of a snap election, saying he was “certainly not interested” in the idea.
But while Johnson allies have insisted his ballot victory should draw a line under the question of his leadership, The opposition Labour Party is moving to apply further pressure on the PM by pushing a Commons vote on standards.
The party is urging MPs from all sides to back calls for Johnson’s ethics adviser to be given the freedom to launch his own investigations into potential ministerial rule breaches. Conservative MPs voted by 211 to 148 in support of the prime minister on Monday, but the scale of the revolt against his leadership left him wounded.
Johnson rejected the assertion that he was now a lame duck prime minister who needed to call a snap election to secure a new mandate from the public, insisting he was focused on people’s priorities.
Several ministers flocked to back the PM following the result, with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove tweeting their support. Chancellor Rishi Sunak said it was “time to move forward” after the prime minister’s victory, while Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Johnson had secured “a fresh mandate” from the Conservative Party. Meanwhile, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Johnson was “utterly unfit for the great office he holds.”
“Conservative MPs made their choice,” he said, adding: “They have ignored the British public and hitched themselves and their party firmly to Boris Johnson and all he represents.”
