Boris Johnson is staying put.
The British prime minister, who has been embroiled in scandal over revelations of lockdown-breaking parties at 10 Downing Street, on Monday survived a vote of no-confidence that could have resulted in his removal from office.
The final vote was 211 to 148, and he needed a simple majority of 180 votes to survive — though The Washington Post wrote that the vote was "remarkably close" all things considered, and ITV News' Paul Brand noted it was a "worse result than Theresa May suffered" in 2018.
The vote of no-confidence was initiated by discontented members of Johnson's own Conservative Party, with Sir Graham Brady announcing earlier on Monday that 54 of the 360 Tory MPs supported a vote. Johnson's office said he welcomed "the opportunity to make his case to MPs," adding that the vote would offer a "chance to end months of speculation and allow the government to draw a line and move on." Johnson surviving the vote means he can't face a vote of no-confidence for another year.
The British prime minister has been resisting calls to step down in the wake of reports of multiple parties at his office and official residence that violated his government's own COVID-19 protocols. The "Partygate" scandal resulted in Johnson being personally fined, and an investigation faulted his government for its "failures of leadership and judgment."
Though Johnson survived the vote, The New York Times noted that the "too-close-for-comfort result" leaves him "badly wounded."