LONDON — Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to swerve a humiliating Commons vote next week after urging his supporters not to oppose a damning report on his conduct.
Parliament was set to vote on the Commons privileges committee’s finding this week that he repeatedly misled MPs about whether lockdown parties took place in Downing Street under his watch.
A small number of his die-hard supporters were preparing to vote against the report in a show of affection for their hero.
But Johnson told them to stand down — meaning the report is all-but certain to pass without a vote on Monday.
“I don’t think there is going to be a vote,” James Duddridge, a former aide to Johnson and one of his most ardent supporters, told POLITICO. “I think people just want to move on.”
Those around Johnson argue it would be pointless to push the report to a vote. But his critics argue that ex-PM simply does not want to highlight how few supporters he has.
Fewer than 10 Conservative MPs have so far signaled that they would back him in the Commons division lobbies to protest against the report’s findings.
The move is also good news for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who was faced with the difficult political decision of whether to vote for the report — a move that risked angering Johnson supporters — or swerve it completely and face accusations of weakness.