Boris Johnson faces biggest rebellion of premiership so far on Covid passes

Boris Johnson has faced the biggest rebellion of his premiership so far, as almost 100 of his own MPs opposed Covid passes.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to the Stow Health Vaccination centre in WestminsterPrime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to the Stow Health Vaccination centre in Westminster
Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to the Stow Health Vaccination centre in Westminster

The Commons challenge came amid warnings that restrictions may need to be in place for the next eight weeks to restrict the spread of Omicron.

Meanwhile, one senior backbencher suggested that the Prime Minister could be facing a challenge to his leadership in the New Year following the votes which he said showed “quite a major division” within the party.

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More than half a dozen Yorkshire Conservative MPs were among the 97-strong cohort who tried to prevent the rules which mean that from today, documentation showing double vaccination or proof of a negative lateral flow test will be needed to access some large venues and events.

There was also a sizable rebellion over the introduction of mandatory vaccination for NHS staff, with 61 Conservative MPs overall opting to defy the Government whips.

However, there was also disagreement on the Labour benches, with 22 opposition MPs, including Shadow Minister and York Central MP Rachael Maskell, choosing to walk through the No lobby.

Despite the rebellions, both measures did pass the Commons thanks to the support of Labour, meaning that they will both become law.

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Boris Johnson’s newest MP, Louie French, who was elected to represent Old Bexley and Sidcup less than two weeks ago, was also among those voting no on Covid passes.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, treasurer of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, called on Boris Johnson to “realise that he’s got to change” and suggested that a leadership challenge could be on the cards after the Christmas break.

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Following the votes, he told Sky News he was “very surprised” by the size of the rebellion, adding it “shows quite a major division within the party”.

He said: “I think now the Prime Minister’s really got to think very carefully about how he’s going to reset his performance, to actually govern with a united party because we will know what happens to disunited parties.”

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He added: “He’s got to realise that he’s got to consult his party properly before bringing these sorts of measures to the Commons.”

Asked whether there was now the prospect of a leadership challenge in the new year if the PM did not change his approach, Sir Geoffrey said: “I think that’s got to be on the cards.

“He’s got to realise that he’s got to change.”

The votes came after another day in Westminster dominated by coronavirus news.

Earlier in the day, Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser for the UK Health Security Agency, told MPs that if Omicron modelling so far is correct then the country will “need some level of restrictions in place for the next four to eight weeks”.

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She warned that the country faces “a very difficult four weeks ahead” with rising case numbers both in the community and in hospitals.

And she urged people to take a lateral flow test before they socialise as she appeared before the Science and Technology Committee of MPs.

Cases have been increasing rapidly, and the variant is thought to be almost dominant in London, where 44 per cent of cases are thought to be Omicron.

“We are seeing increases in the total number of cases in London, so London has doubled its cases over the last four weeks,” Dr Hopkins said.

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“We expect to see Omicron displace Delta, but they are going to live together in parts of the country for longer and we are going to continue to see hospitalisations from Delta for the next two weeks baked in from the numbers that we have.

“And then we will start seeing the Omicron case numbers come into hospital.”

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