RECAP: Boris Johnson to be questioned by senior MPs with PM set to appear before Liaison Committee
The result leaves the PM clinging to his premiership after 41% of his party voted against him.
The Prime Minister insisted he had secured a “decisive” victory despite 148 of his own MPs voting to oust him on Monday night, arguing the Government could now “move on” and focus on what “really matters to people”.
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Hide AdThe Prime Minister will appear before the Liaison Committee, made up of the chairs of the Commons select committees.
While the make-up of the panel that will question the Prime Minister has not been announced, Mr Johnson could face a tough time as a number of the Tory MPs that chair committees have been critical of his leadership.
When Theresa May faced a confidence vote in 2018 she secured the support of 63% of her MPs, but was still forced out within six months.
Politics Live: Reaction and fallout as Boris Johnson wins no-confidence vote despite large rebellion
Boris Johnson has thanked his senior Tory colleagues for their support during the confidence vote as he hosted a Cabinet meeting in Downing Street on Tuesday.
He said: “Good morning Cabinet, thank you all very much, very good to see you.
“Thank you everybody, by the way, for all your good work yesterday.
“It was a very important day because we are able now to draw a line under the issues that our opponents want to talk about and we are able to get on talking about the issues, what the issues that I think the people want… and what we are doing to help them and to take the country forward.
“That is what we are going to do. We are going to focus exclusively on that.”
There has been a “coarsening of the political debate” over the past 10 years, with MPs, especially women, facing harsher criticism than they used to, according to Dominic Raab.
When asked whether he was embarrassed about Boris Johnson frequently being characterised as “a liar”, he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “Politics is a rough game, and if you haven’t got broad shoulders you shouldn’t engage.
“I do think it’s fair to say that since I’ve been an MP in 2010, the coarsening of the political debate – the viciousness with which politicians (are criticised) – and it’s true across the board and it’s much worse for women than it is for men – but that has got much worse.
“Tony Blair was systematically and serially accused of being a liar over the second war in Iraq.
“I think frankly some of those accusations are levelled too easily when people just disagree with what a politician has done, rather than just saying that they disagree with that point or this point, it becomes a question of bad faith.”
More lines from Cabinet
Boris Johnson opened the Cabinet meeting by highlighting what his Government has been doing to help the Covid recovery, economy and cost-of-living crisis.
Speaking at Downing Street on Tuesday, he told ministers that the Government is now going to focus “exclusively” on things like “dealing with the aftershocks of Covid”, “cushion inflationary impact” and “rising energy prices”.
As he highlighted the Government providing £1,200 to eight million households in the UK, Mr Johnson said: “Why are we able to do this? Because we took the right decisions during Covid and we came out of that, of the pandemic, in a very strong economic position with unemployment at the lowest level since 1974.”
“And we are going to get on with the massive agenda that we were elected to deliver in 2019
“It is a huge, huge thing that we are all part off, to really transform infrastructure, skills and technology, uniting and levelling up across the country, unleashing potential across the whole of the UK.
“It is the totally morally, socially, economically, politically the right thing to do and we should be proud, proud, proud of what we’re doing.”
How Boris Johnson’s share of the vote compares with his election as leader
A total of 59% of Conservative MPs voted in favour of Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Monday’s confidence ballot, while 41% voted against.
Speaking after the result, Mr Johnson said: “I got a far bigger mandate from my own parliamentary colleagues, for instance, that I had in 2019.”
He was referring to the result of the final round of voting by MPs in the 2019 Conservative leadership contest, which saw him win 160 votes (51% of the total), while Jeremy Hunt won 77 (25%) and Michael Gove won 75 (24%).
Boris Johnson called on his ministers to “come forward” with ways to cut costs as he focussed on moving forward with the Government’s agenda during the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
He said the “way forward” is “by making sure that we not only continue with the unite and levelling-up agenda but we drive supply-side reform at the same time”.
“So over the course of the next few weeks, I’m going to ask everybody to come forward with ways in which we can, as I say, cut costs, drive reform and make sure that we understand that in the end, it is people who have the best feel for how to spend their own money rather than the government or the state,” he said.
“And that is our fundamental, Conservative instinct and that way, I think we will be able to get on with our agenda, making this the most prosperous, the most successful economy in Europe.”
He finished off by saying: “That’s what we’re going to do. Thank you all for your support. Thank you everything you’ve been doing, and let’s get to it.”
The SNP Westminster group leader said “every party from Scotland is lined up against” the Prime Minister as he welcomed the opportunity of a snap general election.
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The pound has stumbled lower amid uncertainty over Boris Johnson’s leadership despite his victory in Monday’s confidence vote and as fears mount over the strength of the UK economy.
Sterling was lower against the US dollar and the euro as questions swirled around the Prime Minister’s position, having initially held on to gains after the vote was announced late on Monday.
The pound fell as much as 0.7% to 1.24 US dollars and half a cent to 1.17 euro at one stage on Tuesday – a sharp drop from earlier gains of nearly 1%.
London’s FTSE 100 Index was also lower, edging down six points at 7602.4 in morning trading.
There are fears in the City over the path ahead for Mr Johnson after 148 of his own MPs voted against him, declaring they had no faith in his ability to lead the party.
Here is Boris Johnson’s full speech in the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday after he survived a confidence vote:
“Good morning Cabinet, thank you all very much, very good to see you.
“And I think, thank you, everybody for all your good work yesterday, which was a very important day because we’re able now to draw a line under the issues that our opponents want to talk about and we’re able to get on with talking about what I think the people in this country want us to talk about, which is what we are doing to help them and to take the country forward.
“And that is what we’re going to do. We’re focusing exclusively on that. And we are helping people, of course, with number one, with dealing with the aftershocks of Covid.
“Huge sums that we’re putting in to help cushion the inflationary impact, the rising energy prices. I think it is a total of £37 billion we’ve already put in, £1,200 for eight million of the most vulnerable households in the country.
“Why are we able to do this? Because we took the right decisions during Covid and we came out of that, of the pandemic, in a very strong economic position – unemployment, the lowest level since 1974, as I never tire of telling you.
“And we are going to get on with the massive agenda that we were elected to deliver in 2019 and it’s a huge, huge thing that we’re all embarked on, really transformative in infrastructure, skills and technology, uniting and levelling up across the country, unleashing the potential of the whole of the UK. It is a totally morally, socially, economically, politically, the right thing to do and we should be proud, proud, proud of what we’re doing.
“And there are huge investments that we’re making, huge. But it’s not enough just to spend money. You’ve got to spend it wisely and we, as Conservatives, Conservative ministers, have got to make sure that at every stage, we are driving reform and driving value.
“So what I’m going to ask you all to do in each of your departments is make sure that you’re thinking the whole time about cutting the costs of government, about cutting the costs that business has to face, and of course, cutting the costs that everybody else faces, families up and down the country.
“And we can all see ways in which we can reform and improve the way we organise things. We can change our regulations in order to bear down on those costs, whether it’s in energy, or in transport, in housing – one of the biggest costs of all – there is ample scope for us to get out of people’s way to do things better.
“I’ll say something else, by the way, which I think is really uppermost in people’s minds. They also want government to be helping them to get the services they need more promptly and I think in particular, you know, people deserve to be able to get their passport or their driving licence, just as much as they deserve to get their tests, their scan, or their screen on time, promptly and we’ve got to focus on that.
“We’ve got to make sure that as we spend these, make these colossal investments – which I repeat, I think morally, economically, the right thing to do – we’ve got to get value out of it. We’ve got to make sure that people see that they’re getting the services they need when they want them.
“And I think if we go forward with that approach, continuing to unite and level up, which is a magnificent agenda, totally the right agenda for the country, but also driving supply-side reform, driving improvement, we will start to see huge, huge changes – beneficial changes – in our economy.
“And we will have the scope by delivering tax cuts, I think, to deliver considerable growth in employment and economic progress. That is the way forward. It is by making sure that we not only continue with the uniting levelling up agenda, but we drive supply-side reform at the same time.
“So over the course of the next few weeks, I’m going to ask everybody to come forward with ways in which we can, as I say, cut costs, drive reform and make sure that we understand that in the end, it is people who have the best feel for how to spend their own money rather than the government or the state. That is our fundamental conservative instinct.
“And in that way, I think we will be able to get on with our agenda, making this the most prosperous, the most successful economy in Europe.
“That’s what we’re going to do. Thank you all for your support. Thank you for everything you’ve been doing, and let’s get to it.”
Boris Johnson’s belief that “he and favoured friends can disregard rules” is a big contributor to his difficulties, according to a senior Tory MP.
Julian Lewis suggested the actions of the Prime Minister have weakened “trust in the integrity” of Parliament, adding “impropriety” at the top of government is “impossible to defend, especially when it is habitual”.
The remarks from the MP for New Forest East further highlight the hurdles still facing Mr Johnson after he won Monday night’s confidence vote.