British Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted he had secured a “decisive” victory despite a confidence vote in which 148 of his own MPs tried to oust him.
Tory MPs voted by 211 to 148 in support of the prime minister but the scale of the revolt against his leadership leaves him wounded.
After the result of the no-confidence vote, Mr Johnson said: "I think this is a very good result for politics and for the country.
"In this sense I think it’s a convincing result, a decisive result and what it means is that as a government we can move on and focus on the stuff that I think really matters to people.
"I got a far bigger mandate from my own parliamentary colleagues, for instance, than I had in 2019 and I’m grateful to colleagues, I’m grateful for the support they’ve given me."
He called on his party to reunite.
"I understand that what we need to do now is come together as a government, as a party, and that is exactly what we can now do," Mr Johnson said.
“And what this gives us is the opportunity to put behind us all the stuff that I know the media have quite properly wanted to focus on for a very long time, and to do our job, which is to focus on the stuff that I think the public actually want us to be talking about, which is what we are doing to help the people in this country and all the things we’re doing to take this country forward.
"And so what this means tonight is that we can focus on exactly that.
"We can focus on what we’re doing to help people with the cost of living, with what we’re doing to … make streets and communities safer by putting more police out, and it gives us the opportunity to continue to unite, to level up, to strengthen our economy."
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has survived an attempt by Tory MPs to oust him in a vote of confidence. PA -
Boris Johnson leaves the Houses of Parliament after the vote. Tory MPs voted by 211 to 148 in the secret ballot in Westminster. EPA -
Sir Graham Brady, Chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, announces the result of the vote. PA -
A police officer patrols Downing Street on Monday. The vote of no confidence marked the most serious challenge yet to Mr Johnson's three-year tenure as prime minister. EPA -
A protester holds up an anti Boris Johnson placard outside Parliament in London. EPA -
Boris Johnson leaves from the back entrance of No 10 Downing Street. Reuters -
A broadcast journalist at work on College Green outside the Houses of Parliament in London. Getty Images -
British Conservative MP Sir Graham Brady speaks to members of the media announcing the decision to hold a vote of no confidence, outside of the Houses of Parliament. Reuters -
John Penrose, the prime minister's anti-corruption official who resigned, claiming it is 'pretty clear' that Boris Johnson broke the Ministerial Code, speaks to the media on College Green in central London. PA -
Boris Johnson reads the long-awaited report by senior civil servant Sue Gray into the Downing Street party scandal. Photo: Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street -
A gathering in the Cabinet Room at No 10 Downing Street on Mr Johnson's birthday. Photo: Cabinet Office -
Mr Johnson during a gathering held while lockdown rules were in force across the UK. Photo: Cabinet Office -
Another gathering at No 10 Downing Street to mark the departure of a special adviser. Photo: Cabinet Office -
Mr Johnson apologises to MPs in the House of Commons in April, having been fined after a police probe for attending a party during coronavirus lockdowns imposed by his own government. AFP -
Mr Johnson was no more than 30 seconds into his speech when the first shout of 'resign' was heard from the opposition benches, followed by 'you’re an embarrassment' and 'just go'. Reuters -
'I take this opportunity on the first available sitting day to repeat my wholehearted apology to the House,' he said, admitting that 'people had a right to expect better of their prime minister'. AFP -
The prime minister, pictured with a birthday cake baked for him by school staff at Bovingdon Primary Academy in Hemel Hempstead, said it ‘didn't occur’ to him that a gathering on June 19, 2020 to mark his 56th birthday broke coronavirus rules. AFP -
Chancellor Rishi Sunak, left, was also fined for attending lockdown parties held in and around Downing Street. AFP -
Mr Johnson is the first sitting prime minister to be censured for breaking the law, sparking calls from all sides of Parliament, including some in his own party, to step down. Reuters -
A lone protester demonstrates at Downing Street in London. EPA -
Before the war broke out in Ukraine, Mr Johnson appeared vulnerable to the Partygate controversy. He has been praised for his response to the conflict, which may offer him some protection from critics, and he visited Kyiv in what he called a show of support for the country. AFP -
Mr Johnson and his wife Carrie applaud health workers outside No 10 Downing Street in May 2020. Getty -
Mr Johnson makes a statement in the House of Commons in January on a report regarding the Downing Street parties during lockdown. Reuters -
A journalist highlights sections of the Sue Gray report. AFP -
Mr Johnson is understood to have been present at six of at least 12 events being investigated. One occurred on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral, at which Queen Elizabeth II had to grieve away from other mourners because of social distancing protocol. Getty
Mr Johnson acknowledged that there are tough times ahead for the country.
“We’re going to go through a continuing difficult time because of the inflationary pressures that the world is experiencing, but we have a lot of a lot of natural strength, not least the lowest unemployment since 1974," he said.
“What I think is important about tonight, and you know, forgive me what I’m going to say it again, I think this is very good news, because it allows the government to focus on on those issues.
“I certainly think it is [a good result] because don’t forget that when I first stood to be leader of the Conservative Party in 2019, I didn’t get anything like that much support from my colleagues in Parliament.
“What we have now is an opportunity to put behind us all the stuff, as I say, that people in the media like going on about.
"I think there’s a difference in the category of conversation. I know that, you know, people want to talk about stuff that goes on at Westminster.
"What I want to talk about is what we as a government are doing … what we’re going to do now is take the opportunity to unite and deliver."
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Boris Johnson has had an eventful time during his life in politics and journalism. Here, 'The National' looks back at his life in pictures. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson attends the coronation ceremony of Britain's King Charles III at Westminster Abbey in May. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson leaves his home to attend a televised evidence session in March in front of the Commons Privileges Committee. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson listening to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy address parliamentarians in Westminster Hall in February. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson and Carrie Johnson arrive at Westminster Abbey for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson he announces his resignation as prime minister outside 10 Downing Street in July 2022. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson at a press conference in response to the publication of the Sue Gray report into Partygate at Downing Street in May 2022. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson reads the long-awaited report by senior civil servant Sue Gray into the Downing Street party scandal, in his Downing Street office in May 2022. Photo: Downing Street -
Mr Johnson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in central Kyiv in April 2022. The British prime minister paid an unannounced visit to Kyiv in a show of solidarity with Ukraine. AFP -
Mr Johnson watches an early morning police raid on a home in Liverpool as part of an operation to thwart drug dealing, in December, 2021. Getty Images -
The prime minister battles with his umbrella while with Prince Charles at The National Memorial Arboretum in July 2021, in Stafford, England. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson and his wife before the Uefa European Championship final between Italy and England at Wembley Stadium, London, in July last year. Getty Images -
The British prime minister with US President Joe Biden, European Council President Charles Michel, former Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi during the G7 Summit in Cornwall, in June 2021. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson with his wife Carrie in the garden of 10 Downing Street after their wedding at Westminster Cathedral, in May last year. Getty Images -
Boris Johnson visits Hartlepool after Conservative Party candidate Jill Mortimer won a parliamentary by-election in May, 2021. Getty Images -
The prime minister after receiving the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine at St Thomas' Hospital in London in March, 2021. Getty Images -
Boris Johnson after signing a Brexit trade deal with the EU in December 2020. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson examines a vial of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 candidate vaccine, at a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Wrexham, Wales, in November 2020. Getty -
Mr Johnson demonstrating the two-metre distancing rule during his visit to St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in Upminster, East London, in August 2020. PA -
In this photo, published alongside the Sue Gray report into the Partygate affair, Mr Johnson is seen at a gathering in the Cabinet Room in 10 Downing Street on his birthday in June, 2020. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson and former chancellor Rishi Sunak use hand sanitiser during a visit to the Pizza Pilgrims restaurant in June 2020, in east London, to see how they are getting their business ready to reopen as coronavirus lockdown restrictions were lifted in England. PA -
Mr Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds applaud key workers outside 10 Downing Street in May 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson in the Cabinet Room observing a minute's silence in April 2020 in a tribute to the health staff and key workers who died during the coronavirus outbreak. PA -
Boris Johnson appears on monitors for a meeting in March 2020. The prime minister chaired morning meetings on the coronavirus remotely from Number 11 Downing Street, while self-isolating after testing positive for the virus. Reuters -
Members of a family listen as BMr ris Johnson makes a televised address to the nation from 10 Downing Street in March 2020, where he outlined the latest instructions to stay at home to help contain the Covid-19 outbreak. AFP -
Mr Johnson speaks to British troops stationed in Estonia during a one-day visit to the Baltic country in December 2019. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson and Carrie Symonds enter Downing Street as the Conservatives celebrate a sweeping election victory in December 2019. Getty -
Boris Johnson is greeted by staff at 10 Downing Street after meeting Queen Elizabeth II and accepting her invitation to form a new government in December 2012. PA -
Former US president Donald Trump and Mr Johnson arrive for a bilateral meeting during the G7 summit in August 2019 in Biarritz, France. Getty -
The queen welcomes Mr Johnson as the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party, during an audience in July 2019. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson, then Britain's foreign secretary, stands in front of St Basil's Cathedral during a visit to Moscow's Red Square in December 2017. Getty -
Mr Johnson collides with a child during a Street Rugby tournament in Tokyo in 2015, held to mark Japan hosting the 2019 Rugby World Cup -
As mayor of London Mr Johnson competes in a tug-of-war in October 2015. Getty Images -
The Olympic Flag is passed from Mr Johnson to IOC President Jacques Rogge during the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Getty Images -
Mayor of London Boris Johnson with Prime Minister David Cameron during the lighting of the Paralympic Cauldron in Trafalgar Square, in August 2012. PA -
Boris Johnson gets stuck on a zip-line during a BT London Live event in Victoria Park in August 2012. Getty -
Mr Johnson and Lord Sebastian Coe cheer as a giant set of Olympic rings is displayed from Tower Bridge in June 2012, Getty Images -
Mr Johnson gestures attends a Harry Potter studio tour of Diagon Alley, at the Warner Brother Studios, London, in December 2011. AP Photo -
Mr Johnson at the launch of London's first cycle hire scheme in July 2010. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson with artists' impressions of the design for London's new Routemaster bus in May 2010. Getty Images -
The candidates to be mayor of London; Labour's Ken Livingstone, Conservative Boris Johnson and Liberal Democrat Brian Paddick, being questioned on BBC's 'Newsnight' programme in April 2008. Getty Images -
Boris Johnson on the North Pier in Blackpool during the Conservative Party conference there in October 2005. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson at his desk in 2000 while he was a journalist for 'The Telegraph'. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson when he was president of the Oxford Union society speaking to the Greek minister for culture Melina Mercouri when she addressed the union. Reuters -
Boris Johnson in September 1979, at Eton School. Shutterstock
When asked if he was ruling out a snap election, Mr Johnson replied: “I certainly have no, I see no point in focusing on anything else.
“And I’m certainly not interested in, in snap elections. What I’m interested in, is delivering right now for the people of this country.
“We’ve got an amazing agenda, we have a fantastic mandate, a huge … biggest majority we secured in 2019 … the Conservatives for 40 years.
“If you look at what’s just happened in Parliament, in whatever statistics you want to chuck around, I’ve got many more MPs supporting me now than I did in 2019.
“I’m happy with that. We’re gonna bash on, we have a huge agenda and we’re gonna get it done.
“I think the most important thing, although you may want to focus on me, and on politics, and on Westminster, I think what matters is what we deliver, what we do.
“And as a result of this decision tonight by the Parliamentary party, which I welcome, we have a conclusion to something that has been dragging on for far too long.
"And we have the ability now to unite, deliver and get on with the people’s priorities, and that is what we’re going to do.”
Mr Johnson was also asked if he thought the vote had returned a good result considering he was in a worse position than Theresa May was after her vote in 2018.
“I think it’s an extremely good, positive, conclusive, decisive result which enables us to move on, to unite and to focus on delivery," he said.
"That is exactly what we’re going to do."
