UK's Johnson wins no-confidence vote despite ousting

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson left on Monday the House of Commons unscathed following a no-confidence vote that took place after he was ousted from his post as premier and leader of the Tory party in the United Kingdom.

The vote gave Johnson seven more weeks in Downing Street before his successor is elected, and confidence in him is rather high. Johnson received the support of 349 MPs while 238 voted against him, winning the no-confidence motion by an unexpected landslide in a majority of 111.

The "unexpectedness" stems from the fact that the MPs who voted in favor of Johnson are the ones who mobilized earlier in the month to try and take him down.

Johnson announced that he would step down after a slew of resignations hit his government earlier this month in protest of his leadership. He will, however, stay as Prime Minister until a replacement is found.

After the Labour Party succeeded in its bid to oust Johnson as Tory leader, the Conservatives sought to block another victory by the opposition over the outgoing Prime Minister before he says his final goodbyes.

Johnson took the time to laud himself during a valedictory speech he used to defend his record as Prime Minister. He made bold claims that he "got the big calls right" and led "one of the most dynamic governments of modern times" while also citing some of his "achievements".

The ousted premier recalled how he delivered Brexit, implemented a successful COVID-19 vaccine program, "tackled climate change", and "successfully managed the economy."

He then proceeded to accuse Labour leader Keir Starmer was mired in a plot with "the deep state", claiming that they wanted to "haul us back into alignment with the EU as a prelude to our eventual return."

After trying to block the move at first, Johnson gave in to pressure from the opposition for a no-confidence vote in his government and granted the motion parliamentary time.

Alongside his claims, he called on the Tories around him in the House of Commons to unite around whoever takes his seat when he's gone.

Johnson had survived a confidence vote among Conservative MPs by 211 to 148, but a scandal regarding his handling of sexual misconduct allegations against Tory MP Chris Pincher triggered domino-like resignations that culminated in the PM out of office.

The next Prime Minister will be elected by the Conservative party membership over the summer, with the result confirmed on Monday, September 5.

The competition is fierce for the premiership, with prominent Tory figures Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, and Kemi Badenoch still going head to head to try and land the seat in Downing Street.

The top runner, however, is former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak. He resigned from the British government last week, triggering Boris Johnson's downfall. He currently has the support of 88 Conservative MPs, leading the second in line, Penny Mordaunt (67 MPs) by 21 votes.

The UK's richest politician and member of the British Conservative party Rishi Sunak gained early momentum in the race to become the next British prime minister after Boris Johnson's resignation. 

Sunak launched last Tuesday his political campaign with promises to fix the British economy which is on the verge of stagflation, in addition to cutting taxes as soon as the economy is strong again. 

On the same day, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, a former foreign secretary, and Brexit supporter along with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced their support for Sunak.

According to a poll by ConservativeHome, Mordaunt is the most popular member of the party; in second place comes former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch with Sunak landing third, despite a number of analysts arguing that Sunak is at the forefront.

Conservative lawmakers will be holding more votes to rule out weaker candidates until the votes come down to two as of Thursday. After that takes place, one candidate has to impress some 150,000 members of the Conservative party to be chosen as the party's leader.