One of Boris Johnson’s predecessors as Tory leader once described the Conservative Party as “an absolute monarchy moderated by regicide.” When the king or queen is no longer a winner, then out come the knives.
Johnson, the tousle-headed Old Etonian classicist, narrowly survived his own ‘Et tu, Brute?’ moment on Monday after securing the votes of 211 of 359 Conservative lawmakers in a no-confidence vote triggered by backbench anger at his scandal-ridden leadership.
“The result of the ballot held this evening is that the parliamentary party does have confidence in the prime minister” said Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, which represents the interests of Tory backbenchers, as he announced the results to lawmakers.
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Make no mistake, however: Johnson is mortally wounded, despite officially surviving the Tories’ jubilee coup. Caesar was stabbed 23 times in that fateful meeting of the Roman Senate on March 15, 44 A.D. On June 6, 2022, Johnson was stabbed 148 times; 41 percent of Tory lawmakers voted against him. He clings to power, but the die is cast.
Born Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson in New York in 1964, Johnson’s first stated ambition as a child was to be “world king.” He never quite managed that but did manage to climb the greasy pole of British politics after a career in journalism, serving two terms as mayor of London and correctly judging the mood of the disaffected working class in the 2016 vote on U.K membership of the European Union.
Since assuming the top job in 2019, he has done his very best to demean the nation’s highest office, suspending parliament without consulting Queen Elizabeth to get his Brexit legislation through, and then partying through lockdown at Downing Street despite passing laws stopping ordinary citizens from even burying their dead in a civilized manner. It was that scandal, dubbed “Partygate,” which has done him the most damage.
Brady called the no-confidence vote early Monday morning after confirming that 15 percent of the Tory parliamentary party—54 Members of Parliament (MPs)—had sent in letters triggering a contest. The clinching factor for some of those objectors appeared to be that Johnson and his wife had been so loudly booed as they arrived at St. Paul’s Cathedral last Friday to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee.
Of the 14 prime ministers the queen has dealt with through her 70-year reign, starting with Winston Churchill, Johnson is widely thought to be her least favorite, disrespectful of national institutions and an inveterate liar to boot.
Having Johnson booted out the day after her jubilee weekend might have been the perfect jubilee present for the 96-year-old monarch. But even though she missed much of the celebrations for health reasons, she still looks like a good bet to welcome her 15th prime minister before the end of her historic reign.
In an interview with BBC News, Johnson described the voting numbers as an “extremely good, positive, decisive result” that would allow the government to “move on and focus on the stuff that matters.”
But few would agree. Johnson's performance was markedly worse than that of his predecessor, Theresa May, when she faced a confidence vote in December 2018. May was supported by two-thirds of Tory MPs but was forced from office only months later.
The saving grace for Johnson, if we can come back to the Caesarean analogy, is that this remains an assassination attempt without a clear assassin. No clear successor to Johnson has yet emerged; the frontrunner, former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, is an unlikely Brutus.
Rory Stewart, the former diplomat, adventurer, and Tory MP who now serves as a fellow at Yale, pointed out that most of those who voted for Johnson were on the government's payroll—parliamentary secretaries, junior ministers, and ministers.
He tweeted: “Remove the 'payroll' vote—and look at the free vote from backbenchers. Almost 75% of all Tory MPs not dependent on his patronage voted against him. This is the end for Boris Johnson. The only question is how long the agony is prolonged.”
