The prime minister’s contentious argument in the House of Commons on Monday night opened the debate over the no-confidence vote his government is expected to win. In a highly unusual move, No 10 called for a vote of confidence in himself after rejecting a Labor motion singling out Johnson. Standing alongside Liz Truss a day after she and other Tory leadership contenders failed to say whether they would have him in their cabinet, Johnson raised eyebrows by claiming that Keir Starmer and what he described as “the deep state” – a term preferred by conspiracy theorists – with the aim of bringing the UK back into the EU. However, Starmer was able to take advantage of the government’s recent turmoil, telling the Commons: “Now is not the time for Downing Street to be taken over by a vindictive squatter mired in scandal.” Amid pressure from many in the Conservative ranks for Johnson to leave Downing Street as soon as possible, the Labor leader said the Tory leadership race was being fought in the context of “eight weeks in which the British public must trust the word of first place. A minister who was fired because no one can trust him.” Turning Johnson’s own claims against him that Tory MPs had ousted him for “following the herd”, Starmer said he was “not cut from a wacky herd. Instead, he was forced to leave in disgrace.” Labor had initially said it would seek a confidence vote after Johnson announced he would remain prime minister until the autumn and that a new Conservative leader was in place. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST However, the government refused to accept the wording of Labour’s motion, which expressed a lack of confidence in the government and the prime minister, so ministers tabled a motion of their own. Opening the debate, Johnson hailed his success in the 2019 general election and celebrated his record on Brexit, telling MPs: “We got Brexit done and although the pundits and the avengers were left to plan, plan and bide the time them – and I will have more to say about the events of the last few weeks and months in due course – we delivered on every one of our promises.” He turned to the Covid-19 pandemic, claiming: “A pandemic that was global, the origins of which we do not fully understand, but which had nothing to do with the British people, and if anything was the result of distant misbehavior involving bats or pangolins and whose spread has been terribly difficult to manage, and this government has never given up in spades.” There was also vocal support for Johnson from some of his own supporters, including ultra-loyalist Michael Fabricant, who interrupted during the prime minister’s speech to tell him: “I personally think our party is making the same mistake as the Labor Party. it happened when Tony Blair was stabbed. There was also a brief repeat of the 2019 general election campaign when former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn hit back to accuse him of leaving a legacy of “poverty, inequality and insecurity”. Johnson said he was “thrilled” to be debating with Corbyn once again. One of the sharpest remarks came from Welsh Labor MP Kevin Brennan, who said it was unconventional for the government to table its own vote of no confidence and have Johnson speak. He added: “Only an unconventional person would want to speak at their own funeral.”
