michelle-donelan-universities-minister-backs-boris-johnson-prime-minister

Universities minister backs Boris Johnson ‘because he’s made the right calls’

The prime minister narrowly survived a no confidence vote that could have seen him sacked


Michelle Donelan expressed her unwavering support for Boris Johnson yesterday, ahead of the confidence vote that threatened to topple the prime minister. In the run-up to the anonymous vote, the universities minister was among the first to come out in favour of the PM.

“A leadership election won’t help the economy, won’t help us tackle the cost of living, wont help us to defend Ukraine or deliver on our manifesto commitments. Boris has proven he can do this,” Donelan tweeted.

Boris Johnson’s job as prime minister came under intense pressure yesterday as a confidence vote was held among Tory MPs to decide whether he should continue as leader.

Boris won by 211 to 148, surpassing the majority of 180 he needed to stay in the job, but facing a serious dent to his leadership.

Donelan said: “Let’s not forget we wouldn’t have such high employment without his bold calls on vaccine procurement & rollout & so much £ help. I’ll be supporting the PM this evening because on the big issues he’s made the right calls.

“I always focus on what matters to my constituents, which is cost of living and delivering the manifesto that I, and this government was elected on.”

Labour leader Keir Starmer had a different take: “The choice is clearer than ever before: divided Tories propping up Boris Johnson with no plan to tackle the issues you are facing. Or a united Labour Party with a plan to fix the cost of living crisis and restore trust in politics. Labour will get Britain back on track.”

Featured image: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Shutterstock

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Boris could be toppled tonight, but what actually is a no confidence vote?

• The timing of the no confidence vote shows Boris only acts quickly when his job’s at stake

• God save these 19 gracious Platinum Jubilee memes