London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

PM vote: Scottish Secretary says time to move on

PM vote: Scottish Secretary says time to move on

The Scottish Secretary has said it is "time to get on with what really matters" after Boris Johnson won a confidence vote.

Conservative MPs have voted in favour of Boris Johnson remaining as their leader by 211 to 148 in the party poll on Monday.

Shortly after the result, Alister Jack said it was time to "put this behind us".

Four out of Scotland's six Tory MPs voted against the prime minister.

Mr Jack, the MP for Dumfries and Galloway, said: "As I have been clear throughout, the prime minister has my full support. I voted for him tonight, and I am very pleased that he has received the backing of a clear majority of the parliamentary party.

"We now need to put this behind us, and get on with what really matters - tackling the very real major challenges we face both at home and abroad."

Boris Johnson on Monday


Boris Johnson insisted that winning the support of 59% of Tory MPs was an "extremely good" result despite a worse performance than Theresa May in the confidence vote.

"I think it's an extremely good, positive, conclusive, decisive result which enables us to move on, to unite and to focus on delivery and that is exactly what we are going to do," he told reporters in Downing Street.

He ruled out a snap election in order to gain a new mandate from the public, insisting he was focused on the public's priorities.

Mr Johnson said: "I see no point in focusing on anything else and I'm certainly not interested in snap elections. What I'm interested in is delivering right now for the people of this country."

Scottish leader of the Conservatives, Douglas Ross, earlier revealed he would vote against the PM.

"Having listened closely to people in Moray who re-elected me to represent them, and from many people across Scotland, now that this confidence vote is upon us, I cannot in good faith support Boris Johnson," he said.

"My vote tonight will support the motion of no confidence."

The SNP said the result meant Mr Ross' position was not tenable.


'I am stunned'


SNP Westminster Leader Ian Blackford MP told the BBC News channel: "I'm stunned. It's a big thing for anyone to vote against a sitting prime minister. This shows the scale of the rebellion.

"Tonight the prime minister has the support of only one third of the House of Commons. He is a minority prime minister.

"For Boris, this should be over," he said.

"This is a man who doesn't have the support of this parliament... he needs to recognise that with his behaviour, he's demeaned the office of prime minister," he said, adding that "there's a privileges investigation to come".

And he believes Douglas Ross' position is untenable.

"If he had any principles or dignity he should quit as Scottish Tory leader. He has made himself look utterly ridiculous by flip-flopping over Boris Johnson's future and will have no authority or credibility if he tries to cling on."


Responding to the confidence vote, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "That result is surely the worst of all worlds for the Tories.

"But much more importantly: at a time of huge challenge, it saddles the UK with an utterly lame duck PM.

"And for Scotland, it just underlines the democratic deficit - only 2 of (Scotland's) 59 MPs have confidence in the PM."

Shortly after the result was announced, the last Scottish Tory MP declared his position.

MP David Duguid released a message of support for the prime minister after the vote was announced


David Duguid, Conservative MP for Banff and Buchan, backed the prime minister.

"Since this situation arose, I've repeatedly expressed my concerns at the behaviour and culture that was reported at Downing Street and the Cabinet Office," he said.

"It's absolutely right that there was an investigation carried out and Sue Gray's final report has acknowledged changes have already been made.

"Nothing that's happened in the last 24 hours has changed my opinion on whether or not the prime minister needs to resign, so tonight I voted against the motion of no confidence.

"With our recovery from the pandemic and the global inflation pressures that have yet to hit us fully, I believe this is in the best interests of the country."

Scottish Labour MP Ian Murray told BBC Scotland: "With 41% against, it is worse than Margaret Thatcher did when she resigned, it's worse than John Major when he lost the landslide election in 1997, worse than Theresa May and she resigned, so he has just delivered the worst possible result in any confidence vote of any Conservative leader in history and doesn't look as if he is going to resign so that tells you everything you need to know.

"There is no doubt this Conservative party is a disaster for the union and Douglas Ross has done so many U-turns on this he has humiliated himself."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×