Boris Johnson faces a battle to stay in office this evening, with Tory MPs weighing up whether to support him in a vote of confidence.
So far, well over 100 have publicly said they will back him – but the ballot is held in secret and some may opt not to support the Prime Minister in private.
He is expected to win the contest, but needs 180 votes to do so – and the scale of any victory is crucial to his future prospects.
Allies of Mr Johnson insist he will carry on even if he wins by one vote.
But history suggests that PMs who survive confidence votes do not last long in office regardless, as the likes of former Tory leaders Theresa May, John Major and Margaret Thatcher show.
Rebels and Johnson allies alike will therefore be looking at the scale of the opposition to Mr Johnson, whose leadership has been battered by the partygate scandal and him becoming the first serving PM in office found to have broken the law.
The cabinet has fallen into line behind Mr Johnson, making former health secretary Jeremy Hunt perhaps the most prominent Tory to publicly say they will not back the PM.
The vote will take place between 6pm and 8pm in Westminster this evening. The ballots will then be counted and the results announced.
If Mr Johnson loses he will have to stand down and there will be a leadership contest. Metro.co.uk talks you through the main contenders here.
Were he to win, as expected, current rules dictate that the PM is safe from another vote for a year – but those rules could, in theory, be changed.
There may also be pressure, depending on the scale of the rebellion, for cabinet ministers and other key Tories to resign or tell the PM to stand down.
Mr Johnson has always insisted he will fight to the end.
Below is a list of those 114 MPs who say – in public at least – that they back him to do so.
MPs who have publicly backed the PM in tonight’s vote
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MORE : Pound spikes after Boris Johnson no confidence vote announced
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The post The Tory MPs who say they will back Boris tonight appeared first on WorldNewsEra.
