Boris Johnson could win a vote of 'no confidence' and still be forced to leave his role as Prime Minister.
Tonight, he will face a vote of confidence by Tory MPs due to the backlash over the lockdown parties in No 10.
Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, confirmed he had received the 54 letters from Conservative MPs needed to trigger the secret ballot.
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The vote will take place at Westminster tonight (6 June) between 6pm and 8pm, with the count to take place immediately afterwards.
To stay in office, a leader must win at least 50 percent, plus one vote supported by the parliamentary party which equates to 180 votes for Johnson, as reported by The Guardian.
If Johnson looses (gets less than 180 votes), the Tory party will elect a new leader.
If he loses, Johnson will have the choice to either stay in No 10 until a vote between two potential candidates has been completed, or to immediately step down, which could mean that Dominic Raab - Deputy Prime Minister - might stay in charge until someone else is selected.
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But even if he wins the vote of confidence, the safety of his position is not guaranteed.
Despite the rule currently in place - a leader who wins a confidence vote is safe for 12 months - rules can be easily changed.
Take Teresa May for instance - back when she was Prime Minister, she won her 'no confidence' vote.
Even so, May was still forced, soon afterwards, to announce her departure due to the concerns among centrist cabinet ministers around the BREXIT situation.
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Speaking shortly after Sir Graham made his announcement, Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Sky News: “If there is (a vote) the Prime Minister will stand and fight his corner with a very, very strong case.
“I have followed the rules that we have in place. I notified the Prime Minister yesterday and we agreed the timetable for the confidence vote to take place.
“He shared my view, which is also in line with the rules that we have in place, that that vote should happen as soon as it could reasonably take place, and that would be today.”
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A No 10 spokeswoman added: “Tonight is a chance to end months of speculation and allow the Government to draw a line and move on, delivering on the people’s priorities.
“The PM welcomes the opportunity to make his case to MPs and will remind them that when they’re united and focused on the issues that matter to voters, there is no more formidable political force.”
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Topics: Boris Johnson, UK News, Politics