Boris Johnson to face vote of no confidence as West Midlands MPs back PM

Sir Roger Gale, Conservative MP for North Thanet, says the party is "spoilt for choice" when it comes to options for a new leader, as Boris Johnson faces the possibility of a no confidence vote.

Asked on BBC Breakfast if he knows who he would back to replace the Prime Minister, Sir Roger said: "I haven't exercised my judgment yet because I don't know precisely who's going to run."

"I do know that we have some very good alternatives to the Prime Minister so we're not short of choice.

"There is a list of people, and you know the list as well as I do, who are likely to run.

"Any single one of those people in my view would make a better prime minister than the one that we've got at the moment and as I said, I think we're spoilt for choice.

"There are some very safe pairs of hands there. I won't name names because the moment I do it'll be assumed that I'm backing that person."

Jesse Norman has become the latest Tory MP to announce that he has submitted a letter to Sir Graham Brady calling for a confidence vote in Boris Johnson.

In a letter to the Prime Minister posted on social media, Mr Norman, the MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire, said Mr Johnson had presided over "a culture of casual law-breaking" in No 10 and that his claim to be vindicated by the Sue Gray report was "grotesque".

Wolverhampton South West MP Stuart Anderson, meanwhile, said: "For 100 per cent clarity [Boris Johnson] has my full support.

"He is right to lead this country and it is a sad state that we are in this situation having a vote who leads the country when the public decided in 2019."

MP for the Wrekin Mark Pritchard predicted the Prime Minister would win the vote.

He said on Twitter: "Boris Johnson will win vote of no confidence later today. Inevitable discussion after result about margin of his win. A win is a win in politics.

"The party must then move on, get behind the PM and get back to governing - tackling rising living costs, and standing strong with Ukraine."

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he thinks it is "likely" there will be a confidence vote.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Mr Javid said: "My understanding probably isn't much more than yours because you'll probably know, or many of your viewers will know, that to have what's called the vote of confidence requires at least 54 of my colleagues to write into Sir Graham Brady, to ask for one.

"Now, will that happen? I don't know. That's that's a decision for my colleagues. I think it's likely that something like that will happen.

"But it's not something that I could tell you definitively.

"But it's not what I think actually the country needs," he added.

"I hope there isn't - you have to be prepared but I think that what the country wants is for the government to get on and focus on the job at hand, which we are."

Lichfield's Conservative MP Michael Fabricant, who has thrown his support behind the Prime Minister, said he thinks Boris Johnson will win a vote no of confidence.

Asked on Times Radio if the PM will win, the Lichfield MP said: "I think he is going to win.

"I think that something like two-thirds of the party will vote to support him and I really do wonder why it's happening at this time.

"I mean, if I was planning a palace coup, I wouldn't be doing it at this time. I think it's not been well planned."

Mr Fabricant went on to compare the situation to the confidence vote which Theresa May won, saying: "I've got a feeling that's what's going to happen this time too - and so it should."

Jesse Norman said that Boris Johnson's current policy priorities were "deeply questionable" and that there were no circumstances in which he could serve in a government led by him.

In his letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Norman, a former minister, warned that any breach of the Northern Irish Protocol would be "economically very damaging, politically foolhardy and almost certainly illegal".

"You are the leader of the Conservative and Unionist party, yet you are putting the Union itself gravely at risk," he said.

He said the Government's Rwanda policy was "ugly, likely to be counterproductive and of doubtful legality" and that plans to privatise Channel 4 were "unnecessary and provocative".

Sajid Javid has defended Boris Johnson saying he is "delivering" for the country and would still go on to win a general election as the Prime Minister faces the threat of a no confidence vote.

After being played a clip of crowds booing Mr Johnson outside St Paul's Cathedral on the weekend, the Health Secretary told BBC Breakfast: "I'm not aware of any politician that has ever received universal love.

"Politicians are booed or cheered at different times.

"What matters is delivery and Boris Johnson is a prime minister who is delivering."

Mr Javid went on to say Mr Johnson saved the country from "the threat of Corbynism" as he led the Conservatives to a huge majority in the 2019 general election.

He said: "I think that he will deliver for this country and I think he would go on to win a general election with an ambitious program for continuous improvements, whether it's to our health service, to housing, to the cost-of-living challenges, you know, and he's getting on with the job at the moment."

Responding to Conservative MP Jesse Norman's statement, Sajid Javid said MPs are "entitled to their views".

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, the Health Secretary said his colleagues are "entitled to their views and to express them and that's how we come to a decision".

"Jesse's entitled his views," he added.

"I'm entitled to my views and my view is that we don't need a leadership election.

"What we need is to all rally around the Prime Minister and focus on delivery and deliver for the British people."

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, said in a statement: "The threshold of 15 per cent of the parliamentary party seeking a vote of confidence in the leader of the Conservative Party has been exceeded.

"The votes will be counted immediately afterwards. An announcement will be made at a time to be advised. Arrangements for the announcement will be released later today."

A No 10 spokeswoman said: "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."

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Tory 1922 Committee, told reporters in Westminster that Boris Johnson was informed last night that the threshold to trigger a vote had been reached.

He said some colleagues had post-dated their letters until after the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

He told reporters in Westminster: "I notified the Prime Minister yesterday that the threshold had been reached.

"We agreed the timetable for the confidence vote to take place and 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 could reasonably take place and that would be today."

He refused to confirm how many letters had been received or when the threshold had been passed but said "it is slightly complicated because some colleagues had asked specifically that it should not be until the end of the Jubilee celebrations".

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss tweeted: "The Prime Minister has my 100 per cent backing in today's vote and I strongly encourage colleagues to support him.

"He has delivered on Covid recovery and supporting Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. He has apologised for mistakes made. We must now focus on economic growth."

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the no confidence vote in Boris Johnson's leadership will be an "opportunity".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme after the announcement, he said: "Well, it's not what I wanted to see - I think the country wants to see us focus on the big challenges at hand.

"But, you know, we are a very proud democratic party. (I) have full respect for all my colleagues, I understand their frustrations for those that have called for a vote, but, as a democratic party with very clear and fair rules, this vote will now take place."

He added: "I see it as an opportunity. It's an opportunity for the party to put behind it all this frenzied speculation we've had over the last few days and to get behind a programme of delivery.

"That's what I'm here doing today - I'm talking to you from Kingston Hospital - dealing with those Covid backlogs, doing what we can."

"There's many challenges ahead so this is an opportunity tonight for all my colleagues to get behind this programme," he said, adding that it will remind the party that they are "strongest" when united behind a leader.

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, acknowledged that Boris Johnson will not necessarily be safe even if he survives tonight's vote.

Although the Conservative committee's rules say there could not be another confidence vote for 12 months, Sir Graham said those procedures could be changed.

"Technically it's possible for rules to be changed but the rule at present is there would be a period of grace," he told reporters.