The ballot of conservative members of parliament (MPs) in Britain took place on Monday evening. Prime Minister of the U.K. Boris Johnson survived the secret ballot that was cast by members of his conservative party called the Tories. The vote was 211 to 148 in his favor. He did not get a simple majority showing that his power in his own party has weakened.

The “no confidence” motion against the acting prime minister Mr. Johnson was brought after he lied to the country about parties being held by some members of the government while citizens in the nation were facing strict lockdowns due to the pandemic. He subsequently apologized for his actions.

The secret ballot took place between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. British time. The vote could take place as more than 54 MPs which is 15 percent of the party’s strength sent letters expressing their lack of confidence on their prime minister, Boris Johnson to Sir Graham Brady, who is the chair of the Tory backbench 1992 committee.

The scandal termed “partygate” resulted in fines for Boris Johnson and other elected or government officials who had partied at No. 10, while the nation’s citizens were unable to meet loved ones due to strict Covid guidelines. He was booed by a section of the crowd when he attended a thanksgiving service that was a part of the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations, at St.Paul’s Cathedral, in London.

Senior civil servant Sue Gray released a report that showed that the prime minister and his colleagues had blatantly flaunted Covid rules that were followed by the rest of the nation.

Jesse Norman, a former Treasury minister said that Boris Johnson had presided over “a culture of casual lawbreaking.” However, senior members of the cabinet had publicly backed Johnson, on social media as well as on interviews.

Photo Natalia Mikhaylova