‘A hollow victory’

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday lauded the loyalty of his cabinet and vowed to "get on with the job" after surviving a confidence vote of his Conservative MPs that has still left him severely weakened.

The beleaguered leader has insisted that Monday evening's dramatic ballot, which saw 211 Tory party lawmakers support him remaining prime minister but 148 vote against, was a "conclusive" result.

"Thank you... everybody for all your good work yesterday, which was a very important day because we're able now to draw a line under the issues that our opponents want to talk about," he told his team of two dozen or so top ministers and officials.

But most critics and commentators disagreed, arguing that Johnson's authority has been hugely undermined and his days in Downing Street are numbered.

The Times called him "a wounded victor" while his former employers at the Daily Telegraph branded it "a hollow victory that tears Tories apart".

The vote -- just over two years after the Brexit architect won a landslide general election victory -- was brought after a string of scandals that have left the Conservative party's standing in tatters.

Chief among them was the "Partygate" controversy over lockdown-breaking events at Downing Street, which caused public outrage and saw him become the first serving UK PM to have broken the law.

Most of Johnson's cabinet publicly backed him in the secret ballot.

But more than 40 percent of the parliamentary party -- and almost certainly a majority of backbenchers -- did not, setting up potentially tougher times ahead for the government in parliament.

Under current party rules the PM cannot be challenged again for a year, which leaves little time for any new leader to emerge before the next general election due by 2024.

In previous Tory confidence ballots, Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May scored better than Johnson yet despite narrowly winning their votes, both ultimately resigned after deciding that their premierships were terminally damaged.

Johnson has steadfastly refused to resign over "Partygate" and shows no sign of doing so now.

But many question whether he can recover his authority and voters' trust. Various opinion polls have shown the public think he lied about the scandal and should resign.

Former Tory party leader William Hague argued that Johnson should now "look for an honourable exit".