Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Politics
Martin Farrer

‘Out in a year’: what the papers say about Tory vote on Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson Margaret Thatcher Daily Express Daily Record Daily Telegraph Metro
UK papers composite 7th June
Boris Johnson has survived a no-confidence vote, but some UK papers question how long he will stay in power. Composite: Times/Mail/i /Herald/Telegraph/Guardian/Mirror/ Express

A haunted-looking Boris Johnson stares out from the front pages of many of the papers after a dramatic night of Conservative party bloodletting at Westminster.

The prime minister is shown being driven back from the Commons to Downing Street after he won a Tory no-confidence vote in his leadership by 211 to 148.

Although he called the victory decisive and vowed to “bash on” in government, the reaction of some Tory-supporting newspapers suggests he will not be able to draw a line under his Partygate woes any time soon.

“A wounded victor”, says the Times, alongside the picture of Johnson that seems eerily similar to the famous one of Margaret Thatcher being driven away from Downing Street after she was ousted in a Tory party coup.

The paper adds that it was a worse than expected result for Johnson and throws up another parallel with Thatcher by noting that the same proportion of MPs voted against her as against her current scandal-plagued successor. She resigned two days later.

The Daily Telegraph’s front page headline says “Hollow victory tears Tories apart” and carries a secondary headline saying Johnson’s authority has been “crushed” as rebels circle to finish him off.

Papers tomorrow The Daily Telepgragh

The paper’s columnists line up to give a damning verdict on Johnson’s prospects for leading the party into the future with Tim Stanley declaring simply: “The PM is toast.”

The Financial Times also suggests that the prime minister is badly damaged by the vote with its lead headline saying “Johnson wounded in confidence vote as 41% of Tory MPs rebel”.

The Mirror proclaims “Party’s over, Boris” and says that the prime minister has suffered a “brutal attack” by his own side “and is warned that he will be out in a year”.

The Guardian’s splash says “PM clinging to power after vote humiliation”, with columnist Martin Kettle writing: “He is irreparably damaged. Politicians don’t recover from such things.”

The i’s front page says “Wounded Johnson in peril” and inside its political editor, Paul Waugh, says Johnson is the “sick man of Downing Street, infecting all those around him”.

The Metro also thinks it’s time for Johnson to go: “The party is over Boris”.

However, the prime minister still has some defiant backing from his cheerleaders in the national papers. Reflecting the concern of some Tories that dumping Johnson is electoral suicide, the Mail has mocked up a red button marked “Lib Dems Labour SNP” and says “MPs hit the self-destruct button by opening door to smirking Starmer’s coalition of chaos”. Underneath, its main headline says “Boris vows: I’ll bash on”.

Daily Mail fron tpage

The Express also tries to strike an upbeat note with a headline which reads: “Defiant and unbowed … Boris: I’ll lead party to victory”.

The Sun’s splash is “Night of the blond knives”, saying that Johnson has been “stabbed in the back by 148 MPs”.

In Scotland the Herald says “Wounded and weakened, but Johnson vows to stay in office”, while the Press and Journal says “Boris body blow despite winning confidence vote”.

Papers for tomorrow The Herald

The Record opts to throw Johnson’s election-winning slogan back at him with its front page headline: “Get Borexit done”

The Northern Echo says “Carry on Boris (for now)“, while the Newcastle Journal asks “Is he on his way out?”.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Kid Rock reportedly splits from fiancée after being seen with Lauren Boebert
The MAGA musician and Audrey Berry had been engaged since 2017
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Identity of Dave Grohl's love child's mother revealed after months of secrecy
The Foo Fighters frontman, 56, revealed in September that he had fathered a baby with another woman
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Simpsons star ‘vindicated’ more than 30 years after making cameo
New York Yankees players will no longer be told to ‘get rid of those sideburns’
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Where to watch The Simpsons: stream old episodes of the classic animation and watch new ones on TV
All 36 seasons and counting
WhatToWatch
WhatToWatch
Voices: Luigi Mangione’s popular appeal highlights our fetishisation of ‘dangerous’ men
COMMENT: By framing criminals as sex objects, we’re not only vindicating them but their behaviour, writes Olivia Petter. What message does it send to other young men who might go on to become offenders?
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Blake Lively blasts The Hollywood Reporter's 'sexist and offensive' cover about Justin Baldoni legal battle
The cover depicting Lively and Baldoni was branded ‘disturbing’ by outraged critics
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play