BoJo Allies Warn of Early General Election as Media Claim No-Confidence Vote Might Take Place Monday

Some Tory rebels believe that chair of the backbench 1922 Committee Graham Brady has already received the 54 letters required to trigger a no-confidence ballot against Boris Johnson, who remains in hot water over the “Partygate” scandal.

Allies of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson have warned that there could be an early general election in Britain as they try to prevent wavering Tory MPs from submitting letters of no confidence against BoJo, who may face such a vote this week.

On Monday, UK journalist and ITV anchor Paul Brand tweeted that Tory rebels expect Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee, “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”, Brand added.

Earlier, the Telegraph reported that the prime minister may face a no confidence vote on Monday as MPs return to Parliament after a recess related to Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The newspaper also quoted Johnson’s advisers as saying that the general election next year or even sooner is a possibility as the PM considers his political future in light of the publication of senior civil servant Sue Gray’s report into 16 alleged No 10 COVID rule-breaking parties held in 2020 and 2021.

The Telegraph added whether BoJo would announce a snap election “as the cost of [the UK’s] living crisis bites and with [Tories’] sizeable polling deficit to Labour – when he could wait until 2024 – remains unclear”.

The news outlet also referred to a leaked note, which indicates that some Tory rebels are using the prospect of an early election to prod wavering Conservatives not to support Johnson, who is “no longer an electoral asset”.

The note’s purported 14 bullet points include a reference to a poll that showed a quarter of Conservative voters want Johnson’s resignation and a claim that “Partygate” is “not going away”.

Sky News has, meanwhile, reported that Tory rebels expect a no confidence vote in Johnson to be held in the coming days, citing data as showing that 28 Conservatives have publicly called on the PM to step down, with several more questioning his position.

One rebel Conservative MP told the broadcaster that they suspected the no confidence vote would take place this week, but added it was hard to say for sure because this was an "organic and completely unorganised" show of concern from backbenchers.

The source was partly echoed by Business Minister Paul Scully, who argued on Sunday evening that there "may well" be the vote, suggesting, however, that Johnson would "face down" the challenge.

Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Secretary Dominic Raab, for his part, insisted that there was no threat to BoJo’s premiership. When asked by Sky News’ whether there will be the vote this week, he said, “No. I think the Westminster bubble, village, whips this stuff up and I’m not saying it’s not serious and significant but we dealt with all those issues, the prime minister has dealt with all those issues”.

Raab asserted that the public are “exhausted” with the “Partygate” saga and would not appreciate the “months-long Westminster navel-gazing” the vote would bring.

The deputy prime minister also downplayed the prospects of the early UK general election, saying, “I think it’s very unlikely. And I think, by the way, when the election comes, we’ll win it.”

Late last week, the Sunday Times cited unnamed sources as saying that chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers Graham Brady had already received 67 letter of no confidence, while a total of 54 such letters (15 percent of the Conservative Party's 359 MPs) are needed for Johnson to face a confidence vote in a secret ballot. If the prime minister fails to win the support of a majority of MPs in the vote, he will be forced to resign.

The claims followed by the release of Sue Gray’s full-fledged report into the “Partygate” scandal on 25 May, a document which, in particular, claimed that “there were failures of leadership and judgement by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times”.

“Some of the events should not have been allowed to take place. Other events should not have been allowed to develop as they did”, the reported pointed out, also criticising the culture of workplace drinking that Johnson allowed at Downing Street during the lockdowns between 2020 and 2021. The full 60-page document was delayed until the conclusion of a London Metropolitan Police investigation that resulted in 126 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) fines being issued, including for Johnson, his wife Carrie and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

After the document’s release, BoJo told MPs that he takes “full responsibility” for partying but denied he had ever knowingly misled them about the events.

As for the rules related to calling a UK general election, Polling Day typically comes 25 days after the dissolution of parliament. Given that the current parliament first met on 17 December 2019, it will be automatically disbanded on 17 December 2024, which means that the next general election is scheduled to take place in January 2025.