Prime Minister Boris Johnson will remain in power after winning a no-confidence vote by his own Conservative Party.

359 votes were cast. 211 voted in favour, 148 voted against.

The Guardian reports: "by no stretch can this be described as a good result for Johnson.

"He has lost the support of a larger proportion of the parliamentary party than Theresa May did when she faced a no-confidence vote in 2018. Within eight months of that result, May was out."

Johnson called it a "convincing" win and said the party should now "come together."

"What it means is that as a government we can move on and focus on stuff that I think really matters to people," he said.

But the rebellion could still be a watershed moment for him — and is a sign of deep Conservative divisions, less than three years after he led the party to its biggest election victory in decades.

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said the public are "fed up with a Prime Minister who promises big but never delivers," The Telegraph reports.

He accused Johnson of presiding over "a culture of law-breaking at the heart of Government."

"Conservative MPs made their choice tonight. They have ignored the British public and hitched themselves and their party firmly to Boris Johnson and everything that he represents.

"The Conservative Party now believes that good government focused on improving lives is too much to ask. The Conservative Government now believes that breaking the law is no impediment to breaking the law. The Conservative Party now believes that the British public have no right to expect honest politicians."

Starmer tweeted to say the choice between the parties is "clearer than ever before".

Foreign Office minister and former Conservative chairman James Cleverly tweeted: "Clear win for Boris Johnson in the confidence vote.

"[A] greater percentage than in his initial leadership competition, greater percentage that Starmer got in his leadership competition. Now we must all get back to work on behalf of the people of the UK."

The Guardian reported Cleverly started an instant spin operation outside the room where the result was announced.

He called it "a comfortable win" and said rebels should now give up on their efforts.

"I think the country would rightly be very upset if we as a party decided to ignore what the wider party said when they elected him leader, what the country said when they made him prime minister, and what the bulk of Conservative MP have now said today."

A political reporter in the United Kingdom, Rod Liddle, says Boris Johnson's vote of no-confidence win is not a straightforward victory and is in fact a bad result.

Speaking to Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking, Liddle said it was the worst possible result for the Conservative party.

"It is insufficiently close for there to be a legitimate call for Johnson to ignore the fact that he won but the opposition was viewed and resign but far too big for Johnston to say well it's a storm in a tea cup and I carry on – it couldn't be worse," he said.

He said a House of Commons Privileges Committee investigation will now look into determining if Johnson mislead the house.

"If it concludes that he did mislead the house then he has to resign so there is that coming up," said Liddle.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves the Houses of Parliament, in London. Photo / AP

Despite there being a rule that another vote of no-confidence cannot occur within a year of a vote, Liddle said he would not be surprised if rules were changed.

"They are very capable, when events occur, of changing their minds and changing policy and so it wouldn't surprise me entirely if there was another vote of confidence for Boris Johnson before the year is out," he said.

He said Partygate will not go away and it was the people of United Kingdom are focused on.

"They've forgotten Ukraine, they've forgotten about Brexit - it's about how dare he do this," said Liddle.

Sir Roger Gale, one of the leading critics of Johnson, has told Sky News that he will continue to oppose Johnson being party leader.

"[A] greater percentage than in his initial leadership competition, greater percentage that Starmer got in his leadership competition. Now we must all get back to work on behalf of the people of the UK."

The Guardian reported Cleverly started an instant spin operation outside the room where the result was announced.

He called it "a comfortable win" and said rebels should now give up on their efforts.

"I think the country would rightly be very upset if we as a party decided to ignore what the wider party said when they elected him leader, what the country said when they made him prime minister, and what the bulk of Conservative MP have now said today."

Earlier report

Johnson, a charismatic leader renowned for his ability to connect with voters, has recently struggled to turn the page on revelations that he and his staff repeatedly held boozy parties that flouted the Covid-19 restrictions they imposed on others.

Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency Jacob Rees-Mogg speaks to the media in Westminster. Photo / Alberto Pezzali, AP

Voting started at 5am (NZ time) and the ballot reportedly closed at 7am.

Still, with no clear front-runner to succeed Johnson, most political observers thought he would defeat the challenge and remain prime minister. But the fact that enough lawmakers are demanding a vote represents a watershed moment for him - and a narrow victory would leave him a hobbled leader whose days are likely numbered. It is also a sign of deep Conservative divisions, less than three years after Johnson led the party to its biggest election victory in decades.

Since then, Johnson has led Britain out of the European Union and through a pandemic, both of which have shaken the UK socially and economically. The vote comes as Johnson's government is under intense pressure to ease the pain of skyrocketing energy and food bills.

Conservative Party official Graham Brady announced Monday that he had received letters calling for a no-confidence vote from at least 54 Tory legislators, enough to trigger the measure under party rules.

Satirical artist Kaya Mar holds a painting depicting British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, outside the Houses of Parliament. Photo / David Cliff, AP

Hours later, party lawmakers lined up by the dozen in a corridor at Parliament to cast their ballots in a wood-paneled room, handing over their phones as they entered to ensure secrecy. The result was expected later Tuesday morning (NZ time).

To remain in office, Johnson needs to win the backing of a simple majority of the 359 Conservative lawmakers. If he doesn't, the party will choose a new leader, who will also become prime minister.

Johnson's Downing Street office said the prime minister welcomed the vote as "a chance to end months of speculation and allow the government to draw a line and move on".

Johnson addressed dozens of Conservative lawmakers in a House of Commons room on Monday in the UK as he tried to shore up support, vowing: "I will lead you to victory again."

Discontent that has been building for months erupted after a 10-day parliamentary break that included a long weekend of celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee. For many, the four-day holiday was a chance to relax - but there was no respite for Johnson, who was booed by some onlookers as he arrived for a service in the Queen's honour at St Paul's Cathedral on Friday.

Brady said some lawmakers who submitted no-confidence letters had asked for them to be held back until after the Jubilee weekend - but even so, the threshold was still reached on Sunday.

Johnson's allies insist he will stay in office if he wins by even a single vote. But previous prime ministers who survived no-confidence votes emerged severely weakened. Theresa May, for instance, won one in 2018 but never regained her authority and resigned within months, sparking a leadership contest that was won by Johnson.

His selection in July 2019 capped a rollercoaster journey to the top. He had held major offices, including London mayor and UK foreign secretary, but also spent periods on the political sidelines after self-inflicted gaffes. He kept bouncing back, showing an uncommon ability to shrug off scandal and connect with voters that, for many Conservatives, overshadowed doubts about his ethics or judgment.

But concerns came to a head after an investigator's report late last month that slammed a culture of rule-breaking inside the prime minister's office in a scandal known as "partygate".

Civil service investigator Sue Gray described alcohol-fuelled bashes held by Downing Street staff members in 2020 and 2021, when pandemic restrictions prevented UK residents from socialising or even visiting dying relatives.

Boris Johnson pictured at one of the notorious gatherings at 10 Downing St during lockdown. Photo / UK Cabinet Office via AP

Gray said the "senior leadership team" must bear responsibility for "failures of leadership and judgment".

Johnson also was fined £50 ($96) by police for attending one party, making him the first prime minister sanctioned for breaking the law while in office.

The prime minister said he was "humbled" and took "full responsibility" — but insisted he would not resign. He urged Britons to "move on" and focus on righting the battered economy and helping Ukraine defend itself against a Russian invasion.

But a growing number of Conservatives feel that Johnson is now a liability who will doom them to defeat at the next election, which must be held by 2024.

"Today's decision is change or lose," said Jeremy Hunt, who ran against Johnson for the Conservative leadership in 2019 but has largely refrained from criticising him since. "I will be voting for change."

Lawmaker Jesse Norman, a longtime Johnson supporter, said the prime minister had "presided over a culture of casual law-breaking" and had left the government "adrift and distracted."

Another Tory legislator, John Penrose, quit Monday as the prime minister's "anti-corruption champion," saying Johnson had breached the government code of conduct with the behaviour revealed by partygate.

But senior ministers offered messages of support for Johnson — including some who would be likely to run in the Conservative leadership contest that would be triggered if he is ousted.

"The Prime Minister has my 100 per cent backing in today's vote and I strongly encourage colleagues to support him," Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, one of the favourites to succeed Johnson, wrote in a tweet.

If he wins Monday's vote, Johnson is likely to face more pressure. The war in Ukraine, a simmering post-Brexit feud with the EU and soaring inflation are all weighing on the government, and the Conservatives could lose special elections later this month for two parliamentary districts, called when incumbent Tory lawmakers were forced out by sex scandals.

Johnson tried to focus on those broader issues, noting that he spoke Monday to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine's cause, a stance shared by his possible successors.

Cabinet minister Steve Barclay, a Johnson ally, said toppling the leader now would be "indefensible".

"The problems we face aren't easy to solve" but Conservatives have the right plan to tackle them, he wrote on the Conservative Home website.

"To disrupt that progress now would be inexcusable to many who lent their vote to us for the first time at the last general election, and who want to see our prime minister deliver the changes promised for their communities."

- by Jill Lawless, AP