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More than 100 Tory MPs ready to vote against Johnson, according to reports

Published 08:53 7 Feb 2022 GMT

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If Johnson wins the vote, then another cannot be made for 12 months

More than 100 Tory MPS are allegedly ready to turn against Prime Minister Boris Johnson should a confidence vote determine his leadership. In the wake of five Number 10 resignations, the PM continues to swim in the hot water of the Partygate scandal. Sources from within the party suggest that no-confidence letters have almost reached the 54 needed to trigger a vote, with 30 to 45 letters having been submitted to the 1922 Committee, reports the i. [caption id="attachment_315831" align="alignnone" width="2048"]

Johnson thanked the Queen on her Jubilee/Via Getty[/caption] A total of 15 backbenchers have publicly revealed they have written letters, but behind closed doors that number is believed to be considerably more. Some are believed to be withholding their letters until either the full publication of Sue Gray's report or more details emerge. MPs are allegedly holding off submitting their letters in case a vote is triggered and Johnson wins. Should Johnson win the vote, another one cannot be started for another 12 months, making timing letter submissions very important. Based on research illustrating how MPs could be expected to vote, the i paper predicts more than 100 MPs could stand against the Prime Minister. [caption id="attachment_315835" align="alignnone" width="2048"]

MPs are allegedly holding off submitting their letters in case a vote is triggered and Johnson wins/Via Getty[/caption] With a 10-day parliamentary recess due to take effect on Friday, the PM is said to believe he can dodge the vote if the 54-letter threshold is not met by then. But, that's not the case. It is understood that letters could still be emailed during the recess and the confidence vote held remotely.