The British Government rejected this Tuesday the celebration of a debate for the vote of a motion of censure that the Labor Party planned to present in the House of Commons against the acting Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson.
The motion of censure was expected this Wednesday after being requested by Labor but, in an unprecedented move —since in the United Kingdom it is the prerogative of the Executive to order Parliament’s agenda—, it has been denied parliamentary time to the main opposition group, according to The Independent and collects Europa Press.
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Until now, all the motions of censure presented by the opposition had come forward for the vote in the House of Commons, regardless of whether or not they later obtained a majority among the deputies.
Among the reasons for this rejection, the ruling Conservative Party has put forward that with the change in the leadership of the tories after Johnson’s resignation was “enough”. He has also described the initiative as “politicking” and “waste of time”.
“Abuse of power”
Labor had tabled the motion petition arguing that “this House does not trust Her Majesty’s Government while the Honorable Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip [Boris Johnson] remain prime minister.” After his rejection, They lashed out at the Conservatives.
“Once again, the tories they are changing the rules to protect their own dubious peers. All candidates for Conservative leadership should denounce this blatant abuse of power to protect a discredited prime minister,” declared a Labor spokesman in statements collected by the BBC network.
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Nikki da Costa, a former Downing Street adviser, assured that the motion of censure “it was not a traditional vote of confidence” and therefore “fails the test”. “If Labor is ‘absolutely furious’ that their no-confidence motion was not debated at an early opportunity, it would help if they published their motion in the places where they are furious,” Da Costa tweeted.
Labor have shown their anger, arguing that no-confidence motions can “take many forms” and point to an example in 1965 that read: “This House has no confidence in Her Majesty’s Government and deplores the Prime Minister’s conduct in the affairs of the nation,” according to reports The Guardian.
“Nonsense”
The Labor leader, Keir Starmer, had warned that he would present this motion in order to avoid “this nonsense [de Johnson] of cling to power for a few months.”
Starmer lamented last week that the still head of the interim Executive “has inflicted lies, fraud and chaos in the country”, when he threatened to “present the motion of confidence” if the tories “They don’t get rid of it,” reports Efe.
Meanwhile, the so-called 1922 committee —which brings together deputies tories no portfolio—determined this Monday that candidates to succeed Johnson at the head of the party and, eventually, of the Government, they will need the support of at least 20 conservative deputies.
This committee will announce the name of the winner of the internal elections the 5th of September, when parliamentary sessions will resume after the summer recess.
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