Boris Johnson may lose premiership this week

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Members of the British Tory Party believe, Prime Minister Boris Johnson would face severe challenge this week through a no confidence vote, which may result in end of his premiership.

Media reports said, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly faces a challenge to his grip on power as soon as this week, as members of his own party are pressing for a confidence vote after the “Partygate” scandal shattered public support for their embattled leader.

Members of Johnson’s ruling Conservative Party aim to hold a confidence vote on Wednesday, the London’s Sunday Times newspaper reported, citing comments from lawmakers. One Tory MP told the media outlet that dissident members have already reached the threshold of 54 formal requests lodged with the party’s 1922 Committee to force the vote.

A negative result would force Johnson to resign or call for a general election, giving voters an opportunity to choose new leadership. Johnson’s party has been taking a political beating since revelations that his office held alcohol-fueled parties at Downing Street and Whitehall during nationwide Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.

“I cannot and will not defend the indefensible,” Tory MP Stephen Hammond said after an investigative report on Partygate was issued late last month. “I am struck by a number of my colleagues who were really concerned that it’s almost impossible for the PM to say, ‘I want to move on,’ as we cannot move on without regaining public trust, and I am not sure that’s possible in the current situation.”

The Tories may be hard-pressed to retain two seats in Parliament that will be on the line later this month in by-elections after two MPs were forced to resign – one for watching pornography on his telephone in the House of Commons and the other for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy. The opposition Labour Party candidate is polling with a double-digit lead in at least one of those races.

Dozens of Tory MPs have publicly called for Johnson to resign for failures of leadership and allegedly misleading Parliament. The PM has shrugged off those demands, saying earlier this week that he can’t “abandon” the nation amid economic hardships and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Johnson was booed by some onlookers as he arrived at London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral on Friday for the National Service of Thanksgiving, part of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebration. The Tories lost nearly 500 seats and control of 11 councils in local elections last month.

An earlier report said, a new poll suggests UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is likely headed for defeat in the country’s next election unless he can begin to convince voters that his party has the ability to ease an inflation crisis that is eating away at their standard of living.

The poll, conducted by Savanta ComRes for the Daily Mail and released on Saturday, revealed that only 24% of voters see Johnson’s Tories as the best party to manage the inflation crisis, compared with 39% who chose the opposition Labour Party. Dealing with surging prices will be the top election issue, the survey showed, as 90% of respondents said it will be an important factor in their vote.

Inflation accelerated to a 40-year high of 9% in the 12 months to April, the UK government reported this week, crimping the lifestyles of most Brits. Six in 10 voters have already begun spending more time at home rather than going out, and 51% are wearing more layers of clothing to avoid using their heaters, the Daily Mail poll showed.

With petrol and diesel prices rising to all-time highs, 44% of voters have turned to walking and cycling more instead of driving. Three in 10 have canceled subscriptions, such as streaming services and gym memberships.

The poll found that many voters have been forced to take more drastic steps, including 21% who skipped meals regularly and 20% who borrowed money from family or friends. Meanwhile, 11% have stopped making loan payments, and 19% have either gone to a food bank or thought about doing so to put meals on the table.

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