British PM Boris Johnson survives no-confidence vote with narrow margin

London [United Kingdom], June 7 (ANI): British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday night survived a  no-confidence vote, however a rebellion by 148 of his 359 Conservative Party lawmakers signifies that his job security remains in peril.

The vote saw 211 votes in favour and 148 votes against him, according to the chairman of the party committee, Graham Brady.

The opposition and the members of his own party demanded his resignation over the "Partygate" scandal as they raised concerns over his regime and termed Johnson a liability.

Johnson has been facing accusations over lockdown parties at his home and offices. He broke his own government's COVID-19 lockdown rules by inviting and attending gatherings at the government offices.

He will likely seek to frame the result as a chance to move on, but the slim margin of victory means his job security remains in peril, CNN reported.

The vote was triggered by disgruntled Conservative MPs. 148 voted to oust Johnson, in a significant rebellion against the sitting Prime Minister, CNN reported.

Johnson's premiership has been derailed by the "Partygate" scandal, criticism over his response to a cost of living crisis and a series of local election defeats, it added.

Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labour Party, said "divided Tories" have propped up Boris Johnson's government and that Conservative MPs "have ignored the British public."

In a tweet, Starmer said Johnson has "no plan to tackle the issues you are facing."

"The choice is clearer than ever before: Divided Tories propping up Boris Johnson with no plan to tackle the issues you are facing. Or a united Labour Party with a plan to fix the cost of living crisis and restore trust in politics. Labour will get Britain back on track," Keir Starmer tweeted.

"The Conservative party now believes that good government, focused on improving lives, is too much to ask," CNN quoted Starmer as saying in a statement issued shortly after Johnson narrowly survived his confidence vote.

According to CNN, after febrile speculation about the number of Conservative MPs who would vote against Johnson, the final figure who rebelled against him was higher than many expected  as a staggering number of 148 of his own lawmakers decided they had no confidence in Johnson's leadership, against 211 who support him.

However, 58.6 per cent of Conservative MPs backed him -- a worse result than former Prime Minister Theresa May, who had the support of 63% of her lawmakers (200, in a much smaller parliamentary party) when she faced a confidence vote in 2018, the report added.(ANI)