UK prime minister Boris Johnson has won a confidence vote of his own party's MPs and will remain in office.
In the vote late Monday, Johnson won the backing of 211 of the ruling Conservative party's 359 lawmakers, with 148 voting against.
Victory in the vote means Johnson cannot, under the party's rules, face another such challenge for a year. But the size of the vote against him — more than 40pc of his own MPs — means speculation over his leadership is likely to continue, political commentators suggest.
The move against Johnson came after a series of events that proved draining to his reputation, including a report critical of his leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic by a senior member of the country's civil service that found a number of social gatherings at a time of strict pandemic restrictions demonstrated "failures of leadership and judgement" at the top of government. A poor showing by the party at local elections was partly down to public anger at the apparent disregard for lockdown laws.
The UK will hold its next general election in 2024 at the latest.
