Boris Johnson 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 survived a confidence vote.

Conservative MPs voted in favour of Boris Johnson remaining as their leader by 211 to 148 in the vote 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."

Boris Johnson insisted that winning the support of 59% of Tory MPs was an "extremely good" result.

He told reporters in Downing Street: "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 ruled out a snap election in order to gain a new mandate.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross voted against the PM.

"I cannot in good faith support Boris Johnson," he said, "[and] will support the motion of no confidence."

Fellow MPs Andrew Bowie, John Lamont and David Mundell also said they did not have confidence in Mr Johnson's leadership.

However, David Duguid, who represents Banff and Buchan, joined the Scottish Secretary in backing Mr Johnson.

He said he was concerned at the the findings of the Sue Gray report into Downing Street parties, but changes had already been made.

Mr Duguid added nothing had changed his opinion on whether or not the prime minister needed to resign, so he voted to back Mr Johnson in the confidence vote.

The chief whip for the Scottish Conservatives at Holyrood said the result had left a "dark shadow" over the party.

Stephen Kerr told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme the prime minister should "reflect very carefully" on the result.

The MSP added: "politically, undoubtedly, [Mr Johnson] is damaged" by the outcome of the vote, adding that he could not predict how long the PM could remain in post.

Mr Kerr also defended Douglas Ross amid accusations of "flip-flopping".

In January, Mr Ross said there should be a confidence vote, but he withdrew his call withdrew his letter again in March, when war broke out in Ukraine.

Last month, after the Sue Gray report, Mr Ross said on balance he still believed Boris Johnson should remain as PM.

He said toppling him would cause instability that would benefit Vladimir Putin, but added the PM would still have to go if an inquiry found he had misled parliament.

And then on Monday, he said he was not one of the MPs who had called for the confidence vote - but said he would vote that he did not have confidence in the PM.

Boris Johnson may have won the vote but having lost the confidence of two fifths of his own MPs in the process, questions about his leadership will linger.

Not least in Scotland where four of the six Conservative MPs, including the Scottish party leader, now publicly oppose him.

That is not sustainable. It's hard to imagine a UK general election campaign where key Scottish Tories are unable to endorse their own candidate for No 10.

In voting against the PM, Douglas Ross has completed an excruciating double U-turn on his position.

That has, ultimately, brought him into line with much of his Holyrood group but it has also raised questions about his own leadership capabilities.

SNP Westminster Leader Ian Blackford said the scale of the rebellion was "remarkable", adding that Mr Johnson only had the support of one third of MPs.

He told BBC Radio Scotland that inevitably after votes such as this, the prime minister ends up going.

Another PM in this position would have gone after breaching the public's trust, and Mr Johnson's position was untenable, Mr Blackford added.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the result "saddles the UK with an utterly lame duck PM," adding "for Scotland, it just underlines the democratic deficit - only two of [Scotland's] 59 MPs have confidence in the PM."

Scottish Labour MP Ian Murray said Douglas Ross had humiliated himself with U-turns. On the result, he said Mr Johnson had "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."

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said Boris Johnson was unfit for office, and Douglas Ross had to accept "Westminster doesn't get Scotland".

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "Boris Johnson is a liar and lawbreaker who isn't fit to remain prime minister.

"People won't forget the riotous parties, Douglas Ross' U-turns or being taken for granted."