Pound rises after Boris Johnson announces no confidence vote

The pound rallied against the euro and the US dollar after announcing a vote of confidence in Boris Johnson would take place.

Sterling rose 0.6% to US$1.26 and 0.4% to 1.17 euros.

Finance expert Victoria Scholar said the UK economy “could get a boost and reverse some of the recent negativity” if the Prime Minister loses.

“The pound will be closely watched tonight with above average volatility expected around today’s decision,” said Interactive Investor’s chief investment officer.

Today’s vote was officially triggered after at least 15% of Tory MPs tabled letters of no confidence.

Senior Conservatives are now lining up to publicly say they would vote against the Prime Minister.

Jeremy Hunt, who ran for party leadership in 2019, warned the Tories could lose the next election if Mr Johnson stayed in office.

The former Foreign Secretary said: “Anyone who believes that our country is stronger, fairer and more prosperous when run by conservatives should consider that the consequence of not changing will be to hand the country over to others who do not share those values share.

“Today’s decision is: change or lose. I will vote for change.’

In one of the most brutal letters yet filed, former Secretary of State Jesse Norman said Mr Johnson presided over a “culture of accidental lawbreaking” at No 10 and his claim that he had been corroborated by the Sue Gray Report, be “grotesque”.

But cabinet ministers – who could lose their own jobs if the prime minister is pushed – are rallying.

Secretary of State Liz Truss said: “The Prime Minister has my 100 per cent support in today’s vote and I strongly encourage colleagues to support him.

“He drove the recovery from Covid and supported Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. He apologized for mistakes made. We must now focus on economic growth.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said “the prime minister has shown the strong leadership our country needs”.

“I support him today and will continue to support him as we focus on growing the economy, tackling the cost of living and clearing the Covid backlog,” Mr Sunak said.

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said: “The Prime Minister got the big goals right – securing life-saving vaccines, boosting our economy and repelling Putin’s aggression against Ukraine.

“We must support him, unite and focus on meeting people’s priorities.”

MPs will vote between 6pm and 8pm tonight after the Prime Minister addressed backbenchers to bolster support.

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