Boris Johnson's premiership is no longer "viable" after 148 Tory MPs voted against him at last night's ballot on his leadership, according to Lord Hague.
The Prime Minister won the confidence vote as he secured the support of 211 Conservative MPs - but the revolt against him was bigger than expected and has raised difficult questions about his long term future in No 10.
Lord Hague, the former leader of the Conservative Party, said Mr Johnson is now facing a "big problem" because it "isn’t viable actually when more than 40 per cent of your party vote against you".
He told Times Radio: “That is very difficult then to proceed as party leader in the long term. This is like trying to drive along the M1 with two flat tyres. You can say you are at the steering wheel but is it really viable? You are not going to get to the end of the motorway.”
His comments came after Dominic Raab, the Deputy Prime Minister, told Tory rebels they must "respect" the result of last night's vote and allow the Government to move on.
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Ian Blackford, the SNP's leader in Westminster, said Boris Johnson has suffered a "moral defeat".
Mr Blackford said: "He can try and argue, as he has done, that he’s won the vote, but this is a moral defeat for the Prime Minister.
“You’ve got the situation that all the opposition parties and now 140 Tory MPs want this Prime Minister gone, he’s not going to be able to run away from this.”
He added: “Whether he goes today or whether it’s some months down the line this is a dead man walking, this is a man that will pay a price for his behaviour."
Philip Dunne, a former minister and the current Tory chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee, has confirmed he voted against Boris Johnson last night. He said the PM is facing "very choppy waters".
Speaking to BBC Radio Shropshire, the Ludlow MP said: “I took the view that it would be better to try to provide the opportunity for integrity, for a new vision for the party and for a new degree of competence at the heart of government.
“It’s not going to happen for now, but we’ll have to see what happens in the coming weeks and months. I think this is not over.”
He added: “He’s got some very difficult challenges ahead – the by-elections, he’s got this Privileges Committee investigation by parliamentarians into the issue that has triggered this – we’ve got some very difficult conditions ahead through the economy, we have got challenges with the Northern Irish Protocol to resolve.
“There are some very choppy waters ahead and it is going to be difficult to navigate for anyone.”
Boris Johnson would get "absolutely hammered" if he leads the Conservatives into a general election in the coming months, Angela Rayner has claimed.
The deputy leader of the Labour Party said: "The public have the power to remove Boris Johnson. He may think that he’s bought himself a bit of time, but people never forget that they didn’t get to say goodbye to their loved ones. The British public do not like liars, cheats and people that break the law.
“And I think that he is going to get absolutely hammered if he tries to have another general election on that basis.”
Boris Johnson told a meeting of his Cabinet this morning that he believes the Government will be able to deliver tax cuts which will in turn drive economic growth.
He said: "If we go forward with that approach, continuing to unite and level up which is a magnificent agenda, totally the right agenda for the country, but also driving supply-side reform, driving improvement, we will start to see huge, huge changes, beneficial changes in our economy and we will have the scope by delivering tax cuts I think to deliver considerable growth in employment and economic progress.
"That is the way forward."
Boris Johnson told his Cabinet ministers at a meeting in No 10 this morning that last night's confidence vote will allow the Government to "draw a line".
Speaking at the start of the meeting, Mr Johnson said: "Good morning Cabinet, thank you all very much and very good to see you all and I think thank you by the way, everybody, for all your good work yesterday which was a very important day because we are able now to draw a line under the issues that our opponents want to talk about and we are able to get on with talking about what I think the people of this country want us to talk about which is what we are doing to help them and to take the country forward.
"That is what we are going to do. We are going to focus exclusively on that."
He added: "We are going to get on with the massive agenda that we were elected to deliver in 2019."
Lord Hague, the former Tory leader, said that something is likely to go "seriously wrong" with Boris Johnson's premiership after 148 of his MPs voted against him last night.
He told Times Radio: “How does it end? It is impossible to foresee how it ends except it won’t end well.
“When you have that level of disaffection in a political party, given that as Prime Minister you have to be able to call on the resources of the whole party, the enthusiasm of the whole party, inspire your MPs, ask any of them to serve in the Government, the great majority should be confident they will go into the next election saying ‘yes, this is the leader for the next five years’.
“If you are not in that position then something else is going to go seriously wrong. I don’t know what it will be but that would be my, hopefully, objective assessment.”
Lord Hague, the former leader of the Conservative Party, said Boris Johnson's premiership is no longer "viable" as he compared it to a car with two flat tyres.
He told Times Radio: "What is going to happen now, I imagine what will happen… Boris Johnson will say it is business as usual and the Cabinet will rally around and everybody will take stock while the two by-elections take place.
"But there is a big problem here… this isn’t viable actually when more than 40 per cent of your party vote against you, particularly when nobody really organised that, that is the extraordinary thing… there was no plot or conspiracy or group of people whipping people to vote against Boris Johnson. More than 40 per cent decided really on their own to vote against him.
“That is very difficult then to proceed as party leader in the long term. This is like trying to drive along the M1 with two flat tyres. You can say you are at the steering wheel but is it really viable? You are not going to get to the end of the motorway.”
A Tory MP has warned it would be a "disaster" for the Conservative Party and the country if Boris Johnson resigned after winning last night's vote of confidence.
Peter Bone was told that Mr Johnson had secured a lower proportion of the vote than Theresa May did at her confidence vote in December 2018.
He told Times Radio: “You mention Theresa May and Mrs Thatcher. I think Mrs Thatcher is the closer [comparison]. If Boris was to resign now after winning he would be similar to what Mrs Thatcher did.
“History has shown that when Mrs Thatcher resigned it was a disaster for the Conservative Party, it was a disaster for the country, so that is a good reason not to resign.”
Peter Bone, the Tory MP for Wellingborough, who is a supporter of Boris Johnson, said the Prime Minister's 63-vote victory last night represented a "pretty large margin".
He told Times Radio: “The result is very straightforward. The Conservative Party, the parliamentary party, has confidence in the Prime Minister. He won by a pretty large margin.”
Angela Rayner, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, said she believes Boris Johnson has been "mortally wounded" by last night's confidence vote.
She told Sky News: “I don’t think it is a good day. I think he is mortally wounded now and I think he has only got an 80-odd majority within Parliament and therefore he is pretty clear 70-odd percent of his backbenchers didn’t back him.
"So I think he should have done the right thing by now and resigned already, but this Prime Minister doesn’t really consider himself to follow rules.”
The Conservative Party should “draw a line in the sand” following the confidence vote in Boris Johnson last night, according to Dominic Raab.
The Deputy Prime Minister told LBC Radio: “I think we draw a line in the sand after this vote, it was clearly and decisively won.
“We move forward to deliver for the people of the country and that is the way we do the right thing by our constituents.”
Angela Rayner, the Labour deputy leader, said her party would “consider all options” when asked if the Opposition could table a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson in Parliament.
Ms Rayner told BBC One’s Breakfast show: “Well, we will consider all options but to be honest I think the Prime Minister is just once again making it very difficult to deal with the issues that people face today.
“The cost-of-living crisis, the chaos that we have seen around the transport and our NHS that needs vital support, so therefore we do need to get on to those issues but we can’t do that while the Prime Minister continues to limp on because he has no confidence of his backbenchers, he has no confidence of any other political party and he has lost the will of the British people, so he should do the right thing and resign.”
Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, is pushing to hold a vote of no confidence on Boris Johnson's leadership in the House of Commons.
The move would allow all MPs to vote on Mr Johnson's future - however, it is unclear exactly how Sir Ed intends to make the vote happen.
He said: "The lying lawbreaker in No 10 is clinging on by the skin of his teeth. Yesterday’s events have unleashed a civil war for the Conservatives and a summer of discontent for everyone else, where the cost of living emergency is ignored while Boris Johnson continues to fight for his own survival.
“Liberal Democrats are tabling a motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister, so that Parliament has the opportunity to finally put an end to this sorry mess and kick him out of Downing Street. Every Conservative MP who has a shred of decency must back our motion and finally give Johnson the sack."
Boris Johnson will convene a meeting of his Cabinet in Downing Street this morning as he looks to stabilise his premiership.
You can tell it is a significant meeting because No 10 has issued a press release setting out what will be discussed ahead of time - something that only really happens on big days.
Speaking ahead of Cabinet, Mr Johnson said: "This is a government that delivers on what the people of this country care about most.
“We have pledged ￡37 billion to support households with their finances, made our communities safer through hiring 13,500 more police officers, and tackled the Covid backlogs in the NHS by opening nearly 100 Community Diagnostic Centres so people can access care closer to home.
“Today, I pledge to continue delivering on these priorities. We are on the side of hard-working British people, and we are going to get on with the job.”
Tobias Ellwood has called for a change of ministers in the Cabinet in lieu of a change in prime minister, adding that he believes Boris Johnson has “a matter of months” left in his post.
He told Sky News: “There is a lot of work to be done: a reshuffle is now required – bring in fresh talent, and actually start to focus on the bigger issues, make the Cabinet construct actually work."
When asked how long he believes Mr Johnson will remain as Prime Minister, he added: “I think we’re talking a matter of months, up to party conference.”
The Conservative Party conference is due to take place at the start of October.
Tobias Ellwood, the Tory chairman of the Defence Select Committee, who has been calling for Boris Johnson to resign since February, said he accepts the result of the confidence motion “for the moment”.
The MP for Bournemouth East told Sky News: “This is far from a conclusive result – it’s not a defeat but it’s not a win. So for the moment I accept the democratic outcome and I encourage all colleagues to do the same.
“But 41 per cent is a significant chunk of MPs that now need to be included in shaping the party’s future."
Two by-elections are due to take place towards the end of this month - one in Wakefield and one in Tiverton and Honiton.
Dominic Raab, the Deputy Prime Minister, sought to lower Tory expectations ahead of the contests as he told Sky News that "by-elections are always challenging".
He said: "We won Hartlepool little more than a year ago, but by-elections aren't the acid test. The acid test is the general election. We have got probably two years and our focus should be relentlessly on delivering sustainably long-term because that is the stuff people remember.
"People don't remember, if we are honest, and I think a lot of the pollsters would say this, they don't remember by-elections come the general election."
Dominic Raab said the Tories now need to "get on the front foot and focus on the people's priorities".
The Deputy Prime Minister said it is "very simple and straightforward" and "that is the recipe for success".
"We should be relentlessly focused on that," he told Sky News.
Nadine Dorries, the Culture Secretary, yesterday accused Jeremy Hunt of “duplicity” and “destabilising the party” after he launched an attack on Boris Johnson just hours before the confidence vote on the PM's leadership (you can read the full story here).
Dominic Raab was asked how Mr Johnson intends to stop such infighting in the wake of last night's divisive vote.
He told Sky News: "We will need all of the energies of all of our MPs if we are to deliver for the people on the priorities I have described and frankly if we are going to take the game to Labour which is in a total mess and we are letting off the hook if we are talking to each other. I think it is time to come together."
Lord Hague, the former Tory leader, has said the "damage done" to Boris Johnson's premiership is "severe" and he should leave No 10 (see the post below at 07.15).
Dominic Raab was asked about the comments during an interview on Sky News and he dismissed the claims, telling the broadcaster: "William is free to commentate. I am frankly focused on action and what we do next."
Dominic Raab has urged Tory MPs to unite and take the fight to Labour as he said Boris Johnson now has "renewed energy" to deliver on his promise.
The Justice Secretary told Sky News: "We have got two years to deliver and demonstrate we are delivering and I think we are the ones with a plan.
"I think this Prime Minister is full of vision, determination and if anything renewed energy to get off the Westminster insider track onto the outward facing agenda of delivering for the people and I believe that we have got the plan, the energy and the team which Labour can't match, they can't rival.
"I don't think they are doing anything other than carping from the sidelines and that is where all the energies of all our MPs and the whole Government should be."
Dominic Raab was told that if 32 Tory MPs had voted the other way last night then Boris Johnson would have been ousted from No 10.
He told Sky News: "But they didn't. I come onto this show, you ask very fair questions and I always want to answer them as best I can, but to be honest with you, my whole point would be all of that speculation, all of that hypothetical debate, that is over now. We had that vote, the Prime Minister won with 59 per cent and we move forward."
Dominic Raab, the Deputy Prime Minister, has told Tory rebels to "respect" the result of last night's confidence vote and allow the Government to "move forward".
Asked why he believed 41 per cent of Tory MPs voted against Boris Johnson, Mr Raab told Sky News: "The Prime Minister won it with 59 per cent, that is actually more than he got in terms of support when he was elected leader of the Conservative P{arty.
"But we have had that vote now, I think it was the prerogative of those calling for it to have it, the Prime Minister won it clearly, he won it by 63 votes... and now the most important thing I think is to respect that result and to move forward."
Sir Ed Davey said the 148 Conservative MPs who voted to oust Boris Johnson should now resign their party whip and stand as independents.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, the leader of the Liberal Democrats said of Boris Johnson: “He didn’t win for the British people.
“I think the 148 Tory rebels should resign the Conservative whip, sit as independents, and work with opposition parties like the Liberal Democrats to hold this discredited Prime Minister to account.
“There are millions of people, millions of families and pensioners, who are suffering with the cost-of-living crisis, we’ve got the NHS and care crisis, and we also now have the travel and holiday chaos.
“This Government is incompetent, this Prime Minister is not showing the interests of the British people.”
Lord Hague, the former leader of the Conservative Party, said Boris Johnson last night experienced a “greater level of rejection” than any of his predecessors and he should quit the premiership.
"While Johnson has survived the night, the damage done to his premiership is severe,” Lord Hague wrote in The Times.
“Words have been said that cannot be retracted, reports published that cannot be erased, and votes have been cast that show a greater level of rejection than any Tory leader has ever endured and survived.
“Deep inside, he should recognise that, and turn his mind to getting out in a way that spares party and country such agonies and uncertainties.”
Good morning and welcome to today's politics live blog.
After the drama of last night's confidence vote it promises to be a very busy day in Westminster as Boris Johnson tries to stabilise his premiership while Tory rebels plot their next move.
I will bring you all of the key developments.
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