The remain-supporting Conservative MP Dominic Grieve is facing deselection by his party after losing a confidence vote held by his local association by 182 to 131 votes.

The Conservative association in his Beaconsfield constituency said it no longer had confidence in the former attorney general after he put his case to members at a meeting on Friday.

He remains MP for the Buckinghamshire seat for the time being, but a meeting will soon be convened to discuss his future.

Grieve has been at the forefront of efforts to ensure that parliament has a significant influence over how Brexit is managed, with the prime minister struggling to force her deal through the Commons.

He is also a prominent remainer, has called for a second referendum and addressed a pro-EU rally attended by an estimated 1 million people in Westminster last weekend.

After the announcement of his defeat on Friday evening, Grieve was defended by fellow parliamentarians from his own party and others.

Boris Johnson tweeted:

Sad to hear about Dominic Grieve. We disagree about EU but he is a good man and a true Conservative #grieveforbeaconsfield — Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) March 30, 2019

The former chancellor, George Osborne, said Conservative central head office should intervene:

Dominic Grieve is deselected because of his beliefs in campaign led by his ex UKIP opponent. The Tory leadership can stop any deselection if it wants - we frequently did. CCHQ should suspend the local party. Otherwise we are heading for a huge, historic split in the Tory Party — George Osborne (@George_Osborne) March 30, 2019

Senior Tory backbencher Tom Tugendhat, chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, said the no-confidence vote in Grieve was deeply disappointing.

Grieve has been at the centre of the Tories’ internal battle over Brexit, and told MPs last week he had never felt more ashamed of his party. At that time, he acknowledged there were members of his association who were dissatisfied but said they were entitled to express their views.

He said: “I’ve been a member of the Conservatives for 43 years. I’ve no intention of leaving it.”

He has not commented since the announcement of his defeat at the Beaconsfield association.

The local campaign against Grieve was led by the man who stood as the Ukip candidate for Beaconsfield in 2017. The Times reported that Jon Conway, a pantomime producer, had been recruited by the Conservatives after serving as a regional organiser for Vote Leave.

“I took the decision to fight City Hall from within and resigned as Ukip chairman to join the Tory party a year ago,” Conway reportedly told local members. Grieve acknowledged his rival’s past allegiances last week.

In a statement released on Friday evening, Beaconsfield Conservative association’s chair, Jackson Ng, said: “I am pleased to see over 350 members attend. [Beaconsfield] is proud to be one of the largest associations in the Conservative party and also a broad church of members with a wide variety of opinions.

“Our members had a robust discussion with our MP, Dominic Grieve QC, on Brexit, before voting on a motion of confidence in him as our MP, which I can confirm, with a heavy heart, that he failed to retain. He remains our Conservative MP but I will be speaking as soon as possible to my fellow officers and the executive council.”

Brandon Lewis expressed his support for Grieve and said that the vote had no formal standing under party rules.

The Tory party chairman told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Part of the strength of our party is that we are a broad church. Dominic is somebody who has contributed to parliament, is a clear strong Conservative and he is an asset to the party.”

Tugendhat tweeted: “Few in parliament have contributed as much to public life as Dominic Grieve. As attorney general and chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee he has served our country dutifully for decades. He deserves thanks and praise, not this. Our party and country would be poorer.”

Anna Soubry, who was also at the forefront of the remain wing of the Conservative party until she defected to join the Independent Group, described the vote as disgraceful.

The former Tory MP tweeted: “More evidence that the uncompromising dogmatic right is running the Conservatives. Dominic Grieve is one of the finest, most courageous parliamentarians ever – who has always put his country first and championed all his constituents.”

Several Labour MPs also voiced support for Grieve. Stella Creasy said the country’s politics would be poorer without his input. She said: “I’m in a different political party to Dominic. We disagree on many things. I doubt Beaconsfield Conservatives could find someone more experienced, more capable and more principled than him for their MP.”