Boris Johnsoncould come up against yet another no confidence vote in just six months time, according to a rebel Tory MP.
After the Prime Minister faced a vote of no confidence yesterday following the submission of letters from least 54 MPs to chair of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, Sir Graham Brady, a rebel Tory MP has now said this morning that the Committee is looking at changing the rules after he survived last night’s vote.
Mr Johnson won the vote by 211 to 148 to remain in his position as Prime Minister.
It was a voting split of 59% to 41% and reveals a substantial Tory rebellion against Mr Johnson, with 148 MPs voting against him, and making it what was the worst result a sitting MP has ever had in a confidence vote – despite him calling it a “decisive” victory.
The result was also a greater proportion of ‘against’ votes than Theresa May faced at her vote of no confidence in December 2018.
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Read more: Boris Johnson wins confidence vote and will remain Prime Minister
The current Conservative Party rules stipulate that once a confidence vote is carried out and a leader garners enough support to continue in their position, then they will not face another vote for a year, however Tobias Ellwood – MP for Bournemouth East, who served as a government minister at the Ministry of Defence from 2017 to 2019 – has told Sky News this morning that he understands this rule is being looked at changing.
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Mr Ellwood – who voted against the Prime Minister – said he understands the heads of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers are now looking at altering the rules so the leader could face another confidence vote within a year of surviving one.
Tory MP @Tobias_Ellwood says he would support a change to Tory party rules that would allow another confidence vote within a year – but for the moment he supports the "democratic outcome". #KayBurley: https://t.co/cLIrKK2gH1
“I understand that’s what the 1922 Committee are looking at, deliberately for this reason,” he told presenter Kay Burley.
“Because if we’re going to have that stay of execution, we are now going to recognise the democratic outcome and support the Prime Minister then let’s give the Prime Minister time to improve – but, methods can be made, the system can be adjusted to mean the current rule of allowing a Prime Minister an entire year would be changed.”
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Mr Ellwood said that while he will support the democratic outcome of yesterday’s vote for now, he would “support” a rule change being introduced.
He continued: “It’s up to Number 10 and the Prime Minister to act on his word that he’s going to change things around and show that we have a chance of winning the general election.”
Following the outcome of yesterday’s vote of no confidence, a Downing Street spokesperson has confirmed that the Prime Minister will bring his cabinet together today to call on ministers to “drive forward progress on the government’s priorities”.
He will also set out his “vision” for the future of his leadership.
This is set to include new policy commitments, such as reducing childcare costs and a “renewed drive” to get more people on the housing ladder, according to the spokesperson.
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In response to Mr Johnson winning the vote by 211 to 148 yesterday, Leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer said in response on Twitter: “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.”
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.
Sir Ed Davey, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, also tweeted in response: “Every Conservative MP who cares about integrity and decency must do the right thing, resign the whip and sit as an independent.
“For the sake of our country, this failing Prime Minister cannot be propped up any longer.”
Every Conservative MP who cares about integrity and decency must do the right thing, resign the whip and sit as an independent.
For the sake of our country, this failing Prime Minister cannot be propped up any longer
Body of woman found in River Mersey last year finally identified after ‘extensive’ investigation
Emily Sergeant
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
It is currently believed that Laura was last seen around January 2024.
Featured Image – GMP
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More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
Emily Sergeant
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
Emily Sergeant -
7th June 2022 
