British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a confidence vote on Monday, June 6, 2022, overcoming a leadership challenge posed by lawmakers within the ruling Conservative Party.

Johnson received 211 votes against 148, according to Graham Brady, chairman of the party committee supervising the vote.

No confidence vote session for Johnson 

Conservative MPs in Britain began, on Monday, voting in a secret ballot to withdraw confidence from Prime Minister Boris Johnson, which could remove him from office.

This vote comes following disputes among party members over Johnson's violation of coronavirus pandemic measures, divisions about economic policy, and his style of government leadership.

According to the British "BBC" network, voting lasts for two hours inside the parliament building, with results announced one hour after voting concludes, at exactly 21:00 local time.

Johnson needs the support of at least 180 Conservative MPs to remain in office as Prime Minister.

A message from Johnson to his party 

In a message to his party MPs, Johnson asked party members for their support and to reject the no confidence proposal. He added: "I ask for your support tonight because I know how much we can achieve together," according to the network.

He continued: "With your support, I believe we have a great prize within reach. We can put an end to the media's favorite obsession. We can continue to work without the noise stopping us."

He added: "I am fully confident that if we can unite in the coming days, we will win again in due time, restore the trust of the 14 million who voted for us, and continue to serve the country we love."

Loss of confidence in Johnson 

Meanwhile, a large number of Conservative MPs whom Johnson belongs to said they "have lost confidence in his government due to the scandal of parties held at the government headquarters during the lockdown period due to the coronavirus pandemic."

Johnson, who was appointed Prime Minister in 2019, is under increasing pressure as he failed to overcome a report documenting parties filled with alcohol attended by senior officials while Britain was under strict lockdown to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

Johnson stated that he takes responsibility for violations of the COVID-19 lockdown rules that occurred in his office at the Prime Minister’s residence on Downing Street, correcting a previous statement addressed to parliament that said the guidelines were followed at all times.

He told lawmakers on Wednesday: "I take full responsibility for everything that happened in my presence… some behaviors shocked me," adding that he was not aware of violations occurring. He added: "It has not been shown that my presence at those moments, even briefly, was against the rules. But clearly, this was not the case for some gatherings after I left, and for other gatherings, I was not even in the building at the time."

He also repeated his apology for attending a daytime gathering on his birthday in June 2020, for which the police issued a fine.

It is noted that if Johnson is ousted, it will ignite a competition for the Conservative Party leadership, as many prominent government ministers are expected to run.