The Prime Minister will face a vote of confidence tonight when Conservative MPs will vote in a secret ballot between 6pm and 8pm.
Sir Graham Brady is chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee to whom all letters of no confidence must be sent. If the required number of letters are received – 15% of 54- then he must hold a vote.
The chairman said on Monday morning: “The threshold of 15% of the parliamentary party seeking a vote of confidence in the leader of the Conservative Party has been exceeded.
“In accordance with the rules, a ballot will be held between 1800 and 2000 TODAY MONDAY 6th JUNE – details to be confirmed.
“The votes will be counted immediately afterwards. An announcement will be made at a time to be advised. Arrangements for the announcement will be released later today.”
When the votes are cast this evening many more than 54 will be required to oust the Prime Minister from the leadership position. The magic number is around 180. If Mr Johnson survives the ballot on Monday evening then he will be immune from any similar leadership challenges for a year, although it is not beyond the realms of possibility that his role could be challenged in other ways.
His recent involvement in Partygate where he claimed he thought a party held at Number 10 during lockdown was a work event has been criticised by many, and he was given a Fixed Penalty Notice by the Met Police.
Leader of the Scottish Conservatives Douglas Ross did initially lodge a letter with Sir Graham but later withdrew it, saying that it would not be time for any leadership challenges until after the war in Ukraine was over.
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