'Inevitable' Tory MPs will seek to change confidence vote rules to allow another within 12 months

It is "inevitable" that there will be discussions about changing the rules on confidence votes, which would allow Tory MPs to attempt to oust the prime minister again within the next 12 months, sources have told ITV News.

Under the current rules Boris Johnson is safe, as Conservative MPs have to wait another year before they could launch another vote on the PM's future.  

But Conservative sources have told me that discussions about changing the rules to allow for another confidence vote within the 12-month period are “inevitable” and a “natural progression” after last night’s result.  

The 1922 Committee is a group of all backbench Conservative MPs and it is the committee which ultimately decides the rules of the party.  

I understand that several of those who sit in the 1922 Committee executive, who will ultimately make the decision, are open to the idea of making the change and are expecting to have these discussions fairly soon.  

It could see the time limit reduced from 12 months, to six months, which is something that Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood said on Sky News.  

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I asked the Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab about this potential suggestion earlier on Tuesday. 

He said it was a “bad look” for those who lost on Monday to try and change the rules because they didn’t get the result they wanted.  

Mr Raab urged the party to unite and now move on.  

These discussions about changing the rules are not unprecedented and similar talks were had when Theresa May won her confidence vote in 2019.  

She subsequently resigned and the rules were not changed.  

How Boris Johnson survived a confidence vote:

The prime minister was forced to endure a confidence vote instigated by his own MPs who became furious over his handling of the partygate scandal.

It was announced on Monday morning following the four-day Platinum Jubilee weekend that more than 54 Tory MPs had demanded a vote of no confidence in the PM and he would face a poll on his leadership that evening.

He scraped through to survival with a much smaller portion of the vote than he would have expected.

The under-fire PM won with just 59% of the vote as a huge 148 Tory MPs said they wanted to replace him.

Just 211 Tory MPs supported him out of all 359 who cast their ballots.

However, Mr Johnson insisted it was an “extremely good” result.

“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 told reporters in Downing Street.