London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government won a confidence vote it had called in itself on Monday, with members of the governing Conservative Party voting in support of ministers to avoid triggering a national election. The government won the vote by 349 to 238.
The opposition Labour Party has called on Johnson, who has said he will step down, to be replaced immediately by a caretaker leader until his successor is elected by the Conservative Party in early September. Labour had sought to hold a confidence vote in both the government and Johnson in order to try to force him out sooner, but the government objected saying it was unnecessary because the prime minister has already said he will go. The Conservatives instead proposed a confidence motion in the government.
Meanwhile, Indian origin, ex- finance minister Rishi Sunak widened his lead in the latest round of voting Monday by Conservative MPs to decide Britain’s next prime minister, but the race to get in the final two tightened. Sunak won the support of 115 Tory lawmakers, followed by Penny Mordaunt on 82 votes, Liz Truss on 71, Kemi Badenoch on 58 and Tom Tugendhat on 31, who drops out as the last-placed candidate, the party announced. MPs will keep voting until only two candidates remain, the winner then being decided by the party members.
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