Boris Johnson: Authority 'diminished' after confidence vote

Conservative confidence in Boris Johnson has been "diminished", with the prime minister now living on "borrowed time" without "any political authority", NI politicians have said.

Conservative MPs voted in favour of Mr Johnson remaining as prime minister by 211 to 148.

The confidence vote came ahead of the expected introduction of controversial legislation later this week on the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Mr Johnson said the win was "decisive".

Gavin Robinson, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP for East Belfast, said the confidence vote was "not as strong" as Mr Johnson would have wanted.

"He has the confidence of his party, but it's greatly diminished," he said.

Mr Robinson said the political turmoil surrounding the prime minister "shouldn't endanger" the protocol legislation set to be published by the government.

Unionist politicians have protested against the protocol, which has guaranteed free trade across the Irish land border, but has in turn added some restrictions to the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

"The fundamentals at the heart of the legislation are about resolving the issues of the Northern Ireland protocol that are plaguing politics in Northern Ireland," Mr Robinson said.

It was a victory which came at a cost for Boris Johnson and one which he may pay for at a later date.

He won the vote but lost the support of more than 40% of his MPs.

The result will energise his opponents who could now make life difficult for the prime minister when it comes to votes in the Commons.

The first test could come this week with the introduction of controversial legislation to override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Boris Johnson is determined to press on safe in the knowledge he wont face another confidence vote for at least a year, but it could be a long 12 months.

Alliance MP Stephen Farry said the prime minister had been "badly wounded" by the scale of the vote against him.

He said he did not believe that Mr Johnson could remain in power and was on "borrowed time".

On the Northern Ireland Protocol legislation, Mr Farry said: "If we have a wounded Boris Johnson the danger is he may be lashing out and doing things that are very irresponsible to shore up his own base."

Reacting to the vote, the SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said it was "absolutely clear now that Boris Johnson, having lost all moral authority, has now lost any political authority that he had".

Despite the level of unrest in the Conservative Party, the Foyle MP said it was unlikely the prime minister would resign "voluntarily".

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He described the protocol legislations as a political "tactic" and not about "people in Northern Ireland".

Earlier on Monday, Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O'Neill said politics could not be a "hostage to Tory in-fighting".

"Boris Johnson's threat to (the) protocol is to risk their entire agreement with EU on withdrawal and with colossal impact," she said.

Mr Johnson has said a "legislative solution" was needed to address the protocol - a move which Sinn Féin had previously labelled as unacceptable and obstructionist.

Criticism from some backbench members has intensified in recent weeks following the Sue Gray report into parties at Downing Street during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis reaffirmed his support for the prime minister following the vote.

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis reaffirmed his support for the prime minister following the vote.

On Twitter he said: "The PM has won the support of Conservative MPs this evening, at a higher level than even when he won the leadership.

"Now we must focus on getting on with a clear focus on people's priorities."

The PM won 59% of the vote, meaning he is now immune from a Conservative leadership challenge for a year.

Mr Johnson described his confidence vote win as "decisive".

He said it was "an opportunity to put behind us all the stuff that the media goes on about".

The vote share in support of Mr Johnson was lower than the 63% received by former Prime Minister Theresa May when she won a party confidence vote in 2018.