The SNP is set to trigger a three-hour debate at Westminster today after, tabling a motion of censure over the leadership of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Censure motions are moved in the House of Commons with the wording: ‘That this House has no confidence in HM Government’.
If such a motion passes, Parliament can be dissolved and an early General Election triggered, but only if a new government with the support of most MPs fails to form within 14 calendar days.
The SNP leader at Westminster, Ian Blackford told the SNP’s annual conference yesterday that Mr Johnson must be held to account for his “disastrous actions”, and that his party would behave like the “real opposition” by tabling the motion.
Speaking on Times Radio this morning, Mr Blackford described Boris Johnson as a “serial liar”, adding “This is a man who is not fit for office”.
He was critical of the Prime Minister for talking about Peppa Pig and imitating a car during his speech to the CBI conference last week, saying, “We need someone of stature and leadership and the Prime Minister is simply not that person”.
Today’s motion will also call for the Prime Minister’s annual salary of £161,401 to be docked by over £41,000, around half of his ministerial wage.
The Prime Minister’s earnings are made up of £79,496 for his role as Prime Minister, and an additional £81,932 for being an MP.
Johnson and his wife, Carrie Johnson, also have the right to live in the flat above the offices of 10 Downing Street; and enjoy the use of the Prime Minister’s official countryside residence at Chequers in Buckinghamshire.
The salary paid to the Prime Minister places him in the top 1% of earners in the UK.
However, the Prime Minister’s salary is less than a twentieth of the median take home pay of the Chief Executives of the UK’s top FTSE 100 Companies (estimated at £3.61 million per year in 2020).
Boris Johnson’s salary is set by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).
Johnson, however, does not claim the entirety of his entitled salary for the year. In 2020-21, he chose to claim £75,440 out of a possible total of £79,936 earmarked specifically for his work as Prime Minister, in addition to that of his salary as an MP.
It is speculated that Mr Johnson worries about his housekeeping costs at Number 10, and the ongoing financial support required for his children, including those costs connected to the childcare and schooling of his baby son, Wilfred.
Moreover, Johnson has clearly taken a considerable pay cut in order to become Prime Minister.
Prior to moving into Downing Street, and after his time as Foreign Secretary, Parliamentary records showed Boris Johnson to be one of the highest earning backbench MPs. The Evening Standard newspaper has speculated that Mr Johnson was previously earning some £275,000 from his newspaper column with the Daily Telegraph.
