Sir Keir Starmer will table a no confidence motion in Boris Johnson’s government today in an attempt to oust him from office before the conclusion of the Tories’ leadership contest on 5 September.
With the prime minister now set to remain in No 10 for the next eight weeks, Labour will force Tory MPs and the 11 leadership hopefuls to vote on whether or not to support Mr Johnson’s government.
The party confirmed it is seeking to hold the vote in the House of Commons on Wednesday after prime minister’s questions.
It is the first time such a vote will be held since Jeremy Corbyn brought a confidence vote against Theresa May’s government in January 2019 in the wake of a historic defeat on her Brexit plans.
Despite Tory MPs’ anger and mass resignations from the ministerial ranks last week, Labour’s motion is highly unlikely to pass, with many Conservatives now accepting Mr Johnson’s caretaker status.
According to the House of Commons library, governments have been defeated on questions of confidence on just four occassions since 1895, with the most recent being in 1979, toppling James Callaghan’s Labour government.
It comes after Sir Keir warned Tory MPs not to allow Mr Johnson to “cling on” in Downing Street for the duration of the leadership contest, with 11 candidates vying to replace the prime minister.
“He’s inflicted lies, fraud and chaos in the country,” Sir Keir said last week.
“If they don’t get rid of him then Labour will step up, in the national interest, and bring a vote of no confidence, because we can’t go on with this prime minister clinging on for months and months to come.”
On Monday evening a Labour source told Huff Post: “It will put the squeeze on backbench Tories to either vote for him, and be hypocrites, or back Labour, admitting we’re right.
“Do all those Tory leadership candidates really want to be answering that question next week? They know he needs to go”.
Unveiling the timetable for the leadership contest last night, the chairman of the Tories’ 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady said nominations will open and close on Tuesday, with the first ballot staged on Wednesday.
Candidates will need 30 votes to progress through to the second ballot – to ensure they are whittled down to just two contenders by 21 July, with the final choice made by members.
Sir Graham suggested the new prime minister will be installed on 5 September, revealing discussions with Buckingham Palace to ensure the date would not “cause unnecessary inconvenience”.
