Boris-led government wins confidence vote; Rishi Sunak widens lead in race to become PM

London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government on Monday won a confidence vote it had called in itself, with members of the governing Conservative Party voting in support of ministers to avoid triggering a national election.

Some 349 MPs voted in favour of Johnson's administration for the interim period before a new Tory leader is chosen, with 238 largely opposition MPs voting in favour of bringing down the government.

Monday evening's historic vote came amid renewed Labour, Liberal Democrat and SNP for the prime minister to step down immediately and hand over to a caretaker.

If the government had been defeated it would have almost certainly triggered a general election. But a Tory rebellion appeared unlikely, given the party remains leaderless and in no fit state to go to the polls.

The opposition Labour Party has called on Johnson, who has said he will step down, to be replaced immediately by a caretaker leader until his successor is elected by the Conservative Party in early September.

Labour had sought to hold a confidence vote in both the government and Johnson in order to try to force him out sooner, but the government objected saying it was unnecessary because the prime minister has already said he will go. The Conservatives instead proposed a confidence motion in the government.

Meanwhile, Indian-origin former UK finance minister Rishi Sunak won the third round of voting in Parliament to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Lawmaker Tom Tugendhat stands eliminated. The four survivors are former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak (115 votes), International Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt (82 votes), Foreign Secretary Liz Truss (71 votes), and former Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch (58 votes), Xinhua News Agency reported.