Labour’s demand was for a motion of confidence in the government and prime minister and could trigger an early general election. But the government accused the opposition of “playing politics”, arguing it was not a “valuable use of parliamentary time” because the prime minister has already resigned. By tabling his own motion of confidence, Mr Johnson was able to set the wording in such a way as to make it easier for his party to vote for it. Tory MPs are believed to be more likely to support the government’s proposal as it would not constitute Mr Johnson’s endorsement. A government spokesman said today: “Labour was given the option to table a simple vote of no confidence in the government in line with the controversy, however they chose not to. “To fix this, we are tabling a motion that gives Parliament the opportunity to decide whether it has confidence in the government. “The Government will always make time for appropriate House matters, while ensuring that it delivers parliamentary work to help improve people’s everyday lives.”
