Andrew MacAskill and Elizabeth Piper

LONDON, (Reuters) – Boris Johnson was a man who had long aimed to become Britain’s Prime Minister. On Monday, he came within striking distance of being ousted in the face of lawmakers tired of defending his position. Now, he must win back confidence from his country and party.

For now, he is able to survive. However, he remains deeply wounded. Even loyal lawmakers who supported him during a confidence vote agree that he should now make a change. He must return to traditional Conservative Party ideals and foster unity.

His email inbox is large. British households are now facing the worst cost of living crisis since the 1950s. Fuel and food prices continue to rise while wages stagnate. And travellers face transport chaos at airports because there is a shortage of staff.

It is possible that the political master might have to struggle in this instance.

Ed Costelloe was the chair of Conservative Grassroots, which backed Johnson for 2019, and said he’d done many good things, but that he was brought to the ground by the “partygate” scandal, which arose from his violations of COVID-19 locksdown rules.

You are certain to fail if you don’t get a confidence vote. The vultures gather once you have received a vote of confidence. “I think he may be in real, serious trouble,” he said to Reuters.

Johnson defeated 148 to 211, an even worse performance than that of Theresa May who was trying to remove him from office. Johnson had won May’s vote and then quit six months later.

A leader once thought unassailable, after his promises to “get Brexit done” 2019 had won voters across the country. This was in spite of having been the Conservatives’ biggest party majority for over 30 years.

Since then the reasons given by lawmakers to want Johnson out were varied and varied, extending across traditional factional lines. This made it an uneasy partnership for the rebels.

The lawmakers offer a range of possible reasons the 57 year-old leader should quit. They include threats to international law violations, partygate, threat of breaking it, defence of rule-breakers at center of power, numerous policy U-turns as well as slow responses to COVID-19 and general disrespect for his office.

He was saved by Monday’s lack of unity in the rebellion. It has made him weaker.

SURVIVOR

Johnson is a well-known political survivalist, and former prime minister David Cameron compared him to a “greased porclet” who can be hard to catch.

As I discovered, friends, there are only possibilities, not disasters. Johnson wrote that in 2004, there are still opportunities for new disasters.

Johnson preached to party members that he was confident of winning again in a speech just hours prior to the vote.

According to an official source from the party, he stated that “if you don’t think we can win back from our current situation then you haven’t seen my record” or looked at the records of the party.

People have accused Johnson of being too modest or Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson of overestimating him. They claim that Johnson’s distinctive mop and blonde locks masks his discipline and ruthlessness to reach this point.

Johnson might feel that he is running out of gas after all the sex scandals and gaffes he has endured as London’s mayor, prime minister and foreign secretary.

A few in the party were irritated that Dominic Cummings was defending Dominic Cummings as an adviser during the Pandemic. He had broken COVID-19 rules in early, which devastated the country.

He initially supported a Conservative lawmaker found guilty of violating lobbying rules. A U-turn regarding extending school meals free to low-income children did not improve matters.

Months of reporting on lockdown parties at Johnson’s Downing Street culminated in last month’s report detailing fights in the house and alcohol-induced vomiting. This was all while the rest of America was following COVID-19 regulations.

An ex-Conservative lawmaker became so angry even before the report was published, that they either “crossed over the floor” or joined the main opposition Labour Party.

Christian Wakeford who was a Labour member in January told Reuters: “Prior to depart… it wasn’t embarrassing being asked about the morality of a Prime Minister who clearly doesn’t have any morals.”

Costelloe of Conservative Grassroots said that Costelloe’s decision could have serious consequences for the long-term. He stated, “If he remains there in two years, then we lose the next election.”