The British government on Tuesday urged its own MPs not to rebel against new coronavirus restrictions, insisting the country was in a race to prevent the Omicron variant spiralling out of control.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing potentially the largest backlash from within his own ranks since he won an emphatic election victory in December 2019, putting him under further pressure after a string of recent scandals.
Tory opponents are against some or all of the government’s new rules on mask-wearing, daily testing to avoid isolation and vaccine passes for certain settings, warning they undermine public freedoms.
At least 60 Conservative MPs — possibly more — are reportedly set to rebel over the restrictions during votes to make them law which are expected from 1830 GMT.
Even with an 80-seat majority, that has forced Johnson to turn to the main opposition Labour party, which supports the package, to push it through.
In parliament, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Omicron was “a grave threat” and even though hospital admissions were still low, action was needed.
“They are measures that I think the situation demands because when the facts change, our response must change too,” he said.
“There really is no time to lose,” Javid added, noting scientists have predicted the true figure of those already infected in Britain could be as high as 200,000 a day.
But he confirmed that 11 countries, most of them in southern Africa, would be taken off the UK’s so-called travel red list — barring most arrivals — as it was now “less effective” in stopping the spread.
– Football, shows postponed –
Johnson, who has warned of a looming “tidal wave” of Omicron cases that could overwhelm hospitals, said Monday at least one person had died after contracting it.
The country recorded nearly 60,000 new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours to Tuesday — one of its highest daily tallies of the pandemic — as the variant became the dominant strain in London.
Several shows in the capital’s West End theatre district, including The Lion King, have been forced to cancel performances following outbreaks among cast and crew.
Meanwhile, Manchester United’s football match at Brentford on Tuesday was postponed as the English Premier League reported a record number of cases, with the virus threatening to disrupt the busy Christmas fixture list.
Johnson is hoping to curb the impact of infections by ramping up the country’s booster programme, having pledged to try to offer a third dose to all adults by the end of the month.
Officials said over 510,000 were jabbed Monday — nearly double the number a week earlier but far short of the ambitious one million-a-day target.
Although expanding boosters enjoys cross-party support in Westminster, Johnson’s latest restrictions are proving more contentious.
Hardline Tory MPs accuse his ministers of enforcing “disproportionate” curbs based on incomplete evidence that will invariably lead to further measures.
One MP went so far as to compare the introduction of vaccine passes in certain settings to Nazi Germany, triggering protests from Jewish groups.
– ‘Rethink approach’ –
Mark Harper, a former party discipline enforcer known as a whip, implored colleagues to vote down the Covid pass proposal to send a “clear signal” that the government needs to “rethink its approach”.
“Anyone who thinks that they are going to stick to what is currently on the order paper, I am afraid are kidding themselves,” he said.
However, Johnson loyalists have played down the prospect of an unprecedented rebellion.
The situation contrasts starkly with previous parliamentary votes, which effectively rubber-stamped Covid rules, and could not come at a worse time for Johnson.
The 57-year-old has seen support plummet in opinion polls, and faced open calls to quit because of reports that he and staff broke coronavirus rules at Downing Street last Christmas.
That added to claims of cronyism and corruption after reports that the government handed wealthy Tory donors plum seats in the unelected House of Lords.
Johnson also caused fury by trying to change parliament’s disciplinary rules after a Tory MP was found to have lobbied ministers for two companies that had him on their payrolls.
The MP, Owen Paterson, later quit, forcing a by-election in his North Shropshire constituency on Thursday — the result of which could make Johnson’s position even more fragile.
Paterson had a 23,000 majority at the last election in 2019 but a significant cut in that or even a defeat in the Tory safe seat could put spell doom for the embattled prime minister.
