LIVE: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wins confidence vote

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1:51 AM

UK PM Johnson survives confidence vote as 211 of his MPs vote for him

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday survived a vote of confidence in his leadership, as 211 Conservative Party members of Parliament voted in favour of him staying on as their leader.
 

It rounded off a frenzied day of political high drama and speculation as Johnson, 57, made personal pleas to his party backbenchers to keep their faith in him as Prime Minister, despite the bruising partygate scandal of COVID law-breaking parties at Downing Street and across government offices.
 

The vote is held as a secret ballot, with 180 being the cut off for Johnson to win the challenge – given the halfway mark of the Tory parliamentary party membership of 359 if abstentions are not taken into account.

 

1:50 AM

UK PM Boris Johnson wins confidence vote but suffers big rebellion

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a confidence vote on Monday but a rebellion by 148 of his 359 Conservative Party lawmakers dealt a serious blow to his authority.

 

A majority of the Conservatives' lawmakers - at least 180 - would have had to vote against Johnson for him to be removed. The result means Johnson secured the backing of 59% of his lawmakers, lower than the support given to his predecessor Theresa May in a confidence vote she faced in 2018.

 

Having scored a sweeping election victory in 2019, the prime minister has been under mounting pressure after he and staff held alcohol-fuelled parties in his Downing Street office and residence when Britain was under strict Covid-19 lockdowns. Such is the anger that the party triggered a challenge, forcing an anonymous vote of confidence in a leader who had once seemed unassailable. READ HERE...

1:43 AM

LIVE: 211 Tory MPs voted for Boris Johnson compared with 148 against

1:41 AM

UK PM Boris Johnson wins party confidence vote in his leadership

Boris Johnson defeated a challenge by rebels among his own members of parliament to remain leader of the governing Conservative Party and keep his job as British prime minister. In a secret ballot in the UK Parliament on Monday evening, 211 Tory MPs voted for Johnson compared with 148 against.

 

The result of the confidence motion was announced live on television by party grandee Graham Brady. A total of 359 Conservatives had been eligible to vote.

 

Pressure has been building on Johnson for weeks over so-called “partygate,” events in Downing Street during the pandemic for which the 57-year-old premier received a police fine. A report by senior civil servant Sue Gray found many of them shouldn’t have been allowed. READ HERE...

1:33 AM

UK PM Boris Johnson wins confidence vote and will continue as PM

UK PM Boris Johnson wins confidence vote and will continue as PM

1:14 AM

Results of UK PM confidence vote to be out shortly

Results of UK PM confidence vote to be out shortly 

1:02 AM

Sources close to PM Johnson believe he has won confidence vote

The BBC reported on Monday that sources close to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson believed that he had won a vote of confidence among elected members of his Conservative Party.
 

"Sources close to PM confident he’s won vote," said BBC political correspondent Nick Eardley on Twitter

12:46 AM

169 Conservative lawmakers back Boris Johnson in trust vote

At least 169 British lawmakers from Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party had publicly indicated support for by the time ballots closed in a confidence vote over his leadership on Monday, a Reuters tally showed.
 

A total of 180 votes would be enough to ensure he survives the leadership challenge. The ballot was secret and there is no guarantee lawmakers will have voted in line with their public statements.
 

The vote started at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) and stopped at around 8 p.m., with a result expected at 9 p.m.
 

Johnson, who scored a sweeping election victory in 2019, has been under increasing pressure after he and staff held alcohol-fuelled parties in his Downing Street office and residence when Britain was under strict lockdowns due to Covid-19.

 

12:44 AM

MPs have finished voting in confidence poll of PM Boris Johnson

MPs have finished voting in confidence poll of PM Boris Johnson

12:42 AM

UK MPs finish voting

UK MPs finish voting

12:31 AM

Angry UK lawmakers trigger confidence vote against Boris Johnson

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced a confidence vote on Monday after a growing number of lawmakers in his Conservative Party questioned the British leader's authority over what has been dubbed the "partygate" scandal.
 

Johnson, who scored a sweeping election victory in 2019, has been under increasing pressure after he and staff held alcohol-fuelled parties in his Downing Street office and residence when Britain was under strict lockdowns due to Covid-19.
 

He was met with a chorus of jeers and boos - and some muted cheers - at events to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth in recent days.

On Monday, the once seemingly unassailable Johnson was also lambasted by ally Jesse Norman, a former junior minister who said the 57-year-old prime minister staying in power insulted both the electorate and the party.
 

"You have presided over a culture of casual law-breaking at 10 Downing Street in relation to Covid," he said, adding the government had "a large majority, but no long-term plan".

12:22 AM

Britain PM Boris Johnson faces no-confidence vote over 'Partygate' scandal

Britain PM Boris Johnson faces no-confidence vote over 'Partygate' scandal

12:18 AM

UK PM Boris Johnson dangles tax cuts in speech to woo his MPs

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a confidence vote on Monday after scores of his MPs submitted letters calling for him to step aside. 
 

The secret ballot will be held between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. in Westminster, with the result due to be announced at 9 p.m. Before that, Johnson had a chance to address his party, reminding MPs the Tories won their biggest election victory in 40 years on his watch and dangling the prospect of tax cuts.
 

His premiership is unraveling less than a year after his boosters were talking of a decade in power that would reshape the country after Brexit, his signature achievement. While the 57-year-old prime minister’s supporters are insisting he’ll win the vote, history suggests that even that is unlikely to restore his authority and give the government a renewed long-term outlook.

12:16 AM

Conservative MP John Lamont resigns: SkyNews

Conservative MP John Lamont resigns: SkyNews

12:07 AM

Indian-origin MPs likely to vote for Boris Johnson in confidence motion

With voting scheduled for between 10.30 p.m. and 12.30 a.m. (IST) on Monday, how will Indian origin MPs in Britain's ruling Conservative party cast their ballots in a no confidence motion against Prime Minister Boris Johnson?

 

The vote was triggered after more than 15 per cent of Conservative MPs expressed a lack of support for Johnson - which is the minimum requirement for such a test of opinion to take place. With the current strength of the party being 359 in the House of Commons, 180 MPs have to oppose the Prime Minister to depose him, IANS reported.

 

Johnson is accused of being a serial liar. He is charged with misleading Parliament on parties and socialising that took place at his office-cum-residence in Downing Street in violation of laws enacted against such practices during the Covid-19 lockdowns. Last but not the least, he is now perceived to be an electoral liability likely to cause disastrous consequences to his party.

11:44 PM

Boris Johnson arrives to vote in no confidence vote

Boris Johnson has arrived to vote in the no confidence vote set up by critics in his Conservative party. He turned up with Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, and Andrew Griffith, his chief of staff, the Guardian reported.

11:38 PM

160 UK Conservative lawmakers publicly back Boris Johnson

At least 160 UK Conservative lawmakers publicly back Boris Johnson as confidence vote begins: Reuters tally.

11:16 PM

More than 100 Conservative MPs vote in confidence vote against British PM

More than 100 Conservative MPs have now voted in the confidence vote against Boris Johnson, Daily Mail reports quoting a political journalist on the scene.

10:59 PM

At least 145 Conservative lawmakers back PM Johnson: Reuters tally

At least 145 British lawmakers from Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party had publicly indicated support for him ahead of a confidence vote over his leadership on Monday, a Reuters tally showed. A total of 180 votes would be enough to ensure he survives the leadership challenge. The ballot will be secret and there is no guarantee lawmakers will vote in line with their public statements.

10:51 PM

136 Conservatives declare support for Boris Johnson: Daily Mail

Daily Mail journalist tallying the declarations of support for Boris Johnson says 136 Conservatives have declared confidence in the Prime Minister who won an 80-seat majority just over two years ago.

 

10:38 PM

Conservative MPs start voting in no-confidence ballot on Boris Johnson

More than a dozen Tory MPs are in the queue to vote, the Guardian website reports. The MPs are being allowed in one by one at the moment.

 

10:03 PM

Target is to construct 60 kms of highway per day: Gadkari

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said his target is to construct 60 kilometres of highway per day. India's national highway construction slowed to 28.64 km a day in 2021-22 due to COVID-19 pandemic related disruptions and a longer-than-usual monsoon in some parts of the country. "My ministry and my team is working hard, and even during COVID-19 pandemic time, our (highway) construction rate was 38 km per day and my ambition is to take it up to 60 km per day , it is a target," Gadkari said at an event, according to PTI.

9:44 PM

Putin orders payment to families of National Guards who die in Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday ordering the payment of 5 million roubles ($81,500) to the families of members of Russia's National Guard who died in Ukraine and Syria. The decree amounted to official recognition that members of the guard, known as Rosgvardia, are among the casualties of the war in Ukraine that Russia describes as a special military operation. The force, which answers directly to Putin, was created in 2016 to fight terrorism and organised crime, and has been used domestically to crack down on peaceful anti-government protests, Reuters reported.

9:39 PM

Opposition demands ousted BJP leaders' arrest; more Islamic nations condemn remarks

India’s Opposition parties on Monday demanded ousted BJP members Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal be arrested for their remarks on Prophet Mohammad. The diplomatic fallout of the controversy continued as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Indonesia, Jordan, UAE and Afghanistan condemned the statements.

9:02 PM

India's view on BJP leader's comments conveyed to Qatar: Diplomat

India on Monday played down the controversy over remarks by a BJP leader about the Prophet, saying its Ambassador to Qatar has already conveyed its position to the Gulf country. A foreign ministry officer said during Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu's visit to Qatar the two countries agreed to further strengthen their friendship.

8:32 PM

India successfully tests Agni-IV ballistic missile

India successfully tests Agni-IV ballistic missile that can strike targets 4,000 km away and is nuclear capable.

7:47 PM

Sri Lanka's president vows to finish term, but won't run for re-election: Report

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will finish the remaining two years of his term despite months-long street protests calling for his ouster but won't stand for re-election, he told Bloomberg. Sri Lanka is suffering its worst economic crisis in decades. Anti-government protestors blame Rajapaksa and his family for decisions that led to severe shortages of everything from fuel to medicine, stoking inflation of 40 per cent and forcing a historic debt default.

7:43 PM

676 new cases of Covid-19 reported in Mumbai in the last 24 hours

6:43 PM

NCLT to hear on June 10 Amazon's plea opposing Future Retail insolvency

The National Company Law Tribunal will hear Amazon's petition opposing initiation of insolvency resolution proceedings against debt-ridden Future Retail Ltd on June 10. A plea seeking initiation of insolvency resolution proceedings against FRL was filed by Bank of India (BoI), the lead banker in the consortium of lenders to the company. On Monday, the Mumbai bench of the tribunal held a virtual hearing in the matter. BoI's petition is yet to be admitted.

6:30 PM

Probing bank loan fraud, ED attaches flats, villa in Goa and Delhi

The Enforcement Directorate has attached flats and villas in Goa and Delhi and fixed deposits worth more than Rs 24 crore in a money laundering case linked to alleged bank loan default at the J&K Bank, the agency said on Monday. A provisional order for attachment of the properties belonging to the Sanskar Group-- proprietorship concern of Manish Sharma, Navin Beri, his partnership firm M/s Lavanya Travels and Arvind Chadha-- was issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).