As more and more conservative lawmakers go public with no-confidence letters to Boris Johnson, the chances of a prime minister’s vote increase. Here’s how the process works:
How is voting triggered?
The rules stipulate that 15% of Conservative MPs must submit a letter of no confidence to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the commission since 1922, in order for a vote to take place.
Deputies should not reveal their identities, although some will choose to go public due to pressure from their constituents or in an attempt to encourage others to do the same.
It takes 54 MPs to impose a no-confidence vote, and they can either deposit a letter in person at Brady’s office, ask a colleague to leave it for him or send it directly by email.
The only person who knows how many letters have been sent is Brady himself. This is the level of distrust among conservative MPs, and there are several rumors that discourage people from submitting no-confidence letters.
Brady does not need to call every Conservative MP who has sent a letter to see if he is happy with his decision. Nor does he, as others have suggested, pass on a list of those who have sent letters to Johnson’s ministerial aides, known as parliamentary private secretaries.
There were also rumors that government whips had been set up earlier to monitor Brady’s office to spy on those entering and leaving.
What happens if threshold 54 is reached?
Brady has some discretion, but he is expected to tell the prime minister and then hold a private vote of confidence “as soon as possible.”
Most MEPs agree that it is impractical to hold such a vote during a holiday ending next Monday, and especially not during the Queen’s platinum anniversary.
In December 2018, Brady told Theresa May that the threshold had been reached and a vote was held the next day for her premiership. The speed of the procedure was seen as an attempt to give her opponents as little time as possible to organize against the current government.
How is the voting organized?
A ballot box is kept in a safe place in the office of one of the members of the executive branch since 1922 and will be dusted if a vote of no confidence is cast.
It will probably be placed in the same room where lawmakers meet each week for meetings of the committee, on the first floor of the Palace of Westminster and in the center of a long corridor overlooking the River Thames.
Throughout the day, all Conservative MPs will be able to vote by secret ballot. They will be banned from taking any pictures in the committee room. This is intended to discourage party whips from demanding photographic evidence that the MP voted in favor, which means that even if they are on the government’s payroll, they are free to decide whether to vote for or against Johnson.
This does not mean that supporters and opponents of the Prime Minister will not spend the day frantically lobbying and counting the promises of each MP to ask how they voted.
If a Member is outside Westminster, he may nominate a colleague to vote on their behalf as a proxy.
How is the result announced?
Brady will probably do what he did in 2018, and will gather MPs and journalists in the same room of the parliamentary committees where the vote took place that day. He will then announce that the parliamentary party has or does not trust the prime minister, and will reveal the number of votes cast in both directions.
If Johnson survives, there can be no further vote of confidence by the 1922 Committee for another year.
Add Comment