UK's PM faces major leadership threat with no-confidence vote

The British prime minister is reportedly set to face a major leadership challenge in his own party following a furious backlash over holding parties at his official residence during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Press reports suggested on Tuesday night that Conservative Party lawmakers angry at the so-called "partygate" scandal had been further enraged by Johnson's insistence that nobody had told him a party at Downing Street would break the rules he had imposed himself.

Citing sources, the reports also emphasized that the required number of letters from fellow Tory lawmakers demanding a no-confidence vote in Johnson's leadership could reach the 54 mark on Wednesday.

To trigger a leadership challenge, 54 of the 360 Conservative lawmakers in parliament must write letters of no confidence to the chairman of the party's 1922 Committee.

The letters are confidential, so the chairman is the only person who knows how many lawmakers have actually written them.

The development came after Johnson denied an assertion by his former adviser that he had lied to parliament about one party, according to the unnamed sources.

The reports further note that as many as 20 Conservative lawmakers who won their seats at the last general election in 2019 plan to submit letters of no confidence in Johnson.

Just two years ago, Johnson was the darling of his party after he secured the biggest Conservative majority since Margaret Thatcher in 1987, allowing him to deliver on promises to finally steer Britain out of the European Union.

But his relationship is rapidly dissolving under the impact of a steady stream of revelations about Downing Street's defying of strict lockdown rules.

ME