The MP for Stevenage has insisted Boris Johnson "got big calls right" amid plans for a vote of confidence in the prime minister this evening.

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative Party's 1922 Committee, said the threshold for a vote of confidence has been reached, with more than 15 per cent of Tory MPs seeking a vote of confidence in Boris Johnson.

A vote is expected between 6pm and 8pm today (June 6), with a result due later in the evening.

Stephen McPartland MP has defended the prime minister and is expected to back his leadership in tonight's vote.

Mr McPartland wrote on Twitter: "I disagreed with Boris Johnson and voted against lockdown due to devastating impact on mental health.

"He was our best hope, got big calls right and vaccines.

"I will support him as we tackle to cost of living crisis.

"Let the people decide if he should remain PM when there is a general election."

Boris Johnson took up office in July 2019 and led his party to victory in a general election the same year.

But since then, the prime minister has been accused of breaching Parliamentary standards.

In April, Boris Johnson was referred to the Commons Privileges Committee by MPs over having potentially misled Parliament over "partygate" allegations.

The 37-page Sue Gray report, published on May 25, 2022, condemned a "serious failure" to live up to the high standards expected of members of the UK government, and the lockdown rules which everybody was expected to follow during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The report exposed numerous parties in Number 10 when social gatherings were prohibited - including the prime minister's birthday gathering in June 2020.

Sue Gray found a certain "culture" in government which involved a lack of respect for security and cleaning staff.

"The senior leadership at the centre, both political and official, must bear responsibility for this culture," she wrote.

The "Coronavirus: Lessons learned to date" report from October 2021, chaired by former Tory health secretary Jeremy Hunt MP, condemned the government for "failing" to transform scientific leadership into operational success during the pandemic.

"The UK government did not follow the official scientific advice," a portion of the report read.

It adds elsewhere: "The UK was not alone in suffering significant loss of life in care homes, but the tragic scale of loss was among the worst in Europe and could have been mitigated."

The report praised the government's vaccine rollout amid "many" errors by leaders.

It read: "The success of the vaccine programme has redeemed many of the persistent failings of other parts of the national response such as the test and trace system, so that the outcome is far better than would have been the case without this success."

Stephen McPartland is not the only MP in Hertfordshire to praise the prime minister and his leadership on Covid-19, as well as leadership through the Ukraine conflict and cost of living crisis.

The Comet: Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps MP with journalist Will Durrant (File picture)Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps MP with journalist Will Durrant (File picture) (Image: Danny Loo Photography)

Grant Shapps MP, transport secretary and MP for nearby Welwyn Hatfield, said: "With the cost of living rising, war in Europe and an economy to recover after Covid, now is not the time for a distracting and divisive leadership contest.

"Boris Johnson has my support - we must back him to get on with the job of delivering for the British people."

Senior Labour Party politicians have previously called for Boris Johnson to resign.

The Comet: Keir Starmer, Labour leader, pictured here on a visit to StevenageKeir Starmer, Labour leader, pictured here on a visit to Stevenage (Image: Doug Peters/PA Wire/PA Images)

Keir Starmer MP, leader of the Labour Party, said: "The door of 10 Downing Street is one of the great symbols of British democracy.

"A democracy which relies on the principles of honesty and integrity.

"Its current inhabitant has failed to uphold these principles.

"Boris Johnson must go."