Facts 

In the aftermath of the vote of confidence in Boris Johnson, The Salisbury Journal reported that: 

“Salisbury’s MP John Glen voted in support of Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the confidence vote on Monday. But he says he has ‘made it clear to the PM how frustrated I am.’

The MP said he had ‘no discretion in the vote’ because he is a member of the government serving as a Treasury Minister.”

Verdict

John Glen was misleading readers of the Salisbury Journal when he told them he had “‘no discretion in the vote’ because he is a member of the government serving as a Treasury Minister.” It was open to him to have voted against Boris Johnson. He would have been obliged to resign from the government in consequence. He chose not to do so. 

When we showed the above analysis to Mr Glen he replied: “If I had resigned at that point, I would  not have been able to complete the most serious piece of Financial Services legislation in a generation after 4.5 years in post.

“So I had no discretion if I was to finish the deeply challenging legislation as a then unpaid Minister. A point your quote ( without this explanation ) does not convey.” We are grateful to Mr Glen for his swift response.