Tory MP accuses PM of ‘creating a miserable dystopia’ with Covid curbs
Tory Steve Baker accuses Boris Johnson of ‘creating a miserable dystopia’ by re-imposing Covid curbs as he says ‘at least’ 60 Conservative MPs will vote against ‘Plan B’ – but Keir Starmer says Labour will back the rules
MPs will vote on Tuesday on the Government’s ‘Plan B’ coronavirus restrictionsSteve Baker today accused Boris Johnson of ‘creating a miserable dystopia’Tory MP said ‘at least’ 60 of his colleagues will vote against Plan B on Tuesday But Sir Keir Starmer today confirmed Labour will be voting in favour of Plan B
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Tory MP Steve Baker today accused Boris Johnson of ‘creating a miserable dystopia’ by re-imposing coronavirus restrictions as the Prime Minister braces for a massive Conservative revolt over ‘Plan B’.
Mr Baker lashed out at Mr Johnson and claimed ‘at least’ 60 Tory MPs will vote against the Government on Tuesday when they are asked to rubber-stamp the PM’s latest Covid curbs.
If such a rebellion does materialise it would be the largest suffered by Mr Johnson during his premiership.
However, the PM’s crackdown will almost certainly be agreed by the House of Commons after Sir Keir Starmer confirmed the Labour Party will vote in favour of the new rules.
Sir Keir said this morning he believes the measures are ‘necessary’ to counter the ‘great threat’ posed by the Omicron variant.
He said Labour will act in the ‘public interest’ and support ‘Plan B’ as he insisted he will resist calls to take ‘political advantage’ of the situation.
Tory MP Steve Baker today accused Boris Johnson of ‘creating a miserable dystopia’ by re-imposing coronavirus restrictions
Mr Johnson triggered his ‘Plan B’ last week in a bid to buy the UK time in the fight against Omicron.
Many Tory backbenchers have reacted with fury to the measures, with some having already pledged to vote against the moves in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
The decision to make vaccine passports compulsory for large venues has gone down particularly badly with backbenchers.
The passes will need to be shown to gain access to indoor venues with more than 500 people, unseated outdoor venues with more than 4,000 people and any venue with more than 10,000 people from Wednesday.
The ‘Plan B’ measures also include compulsory mask-wearing in most public indoor settings, as well as guidance for employees to work from home where they can.
Mr Baker, a vocal opponent of Covid restrictions, said he will vote against the measures as he announced the relaunch of the Conservative Way Forward group to press for freedom, a smaller state and lower taxes.
He told Sky News: ‘Yes, I will vote against. I think what we are doing now is creating a miserable dystopia into which we are going forward and that is why today I am announcing that I will be relaunching Conservative Way Forward.
‘We need to create a movement which actually says the Conservative Party needs to be what people traditionally have recognised as conservative that is in favour of freedom and personal responsibility.’
Labour has said it will vote for the ‘Plan B’ measures which means they will clear the Commons even if there is a sizeable Tory rebellion.
Asked for his assessment of how many Tory MPs could rebel against the Government, the former Brexit minister said: ‘It feels to me that is going to be at least 60 people voting against but of course it is a foregone conclusion because our useless opposition in name only will continue to support the Government, however authoritarian they are.
Models by London School of Tropical Health and Medicine show the projected path of the Omicron Covid wave in the UK with no extra measures beyond Plan B. The medium case scenario assumes boosters provide a high amount of protection against disease, but with a high degree of vaccine escape by Omicron. The modelling shows hospitalisations exceeding the January 2021 peak – but modellers did not take into account any reduction in severity of Omicron
Models by London School of Tropical Health and Medicine show the projected path of the Omicron Covid wave in the UK with if lockdown measures are reintroduced. This worst case scenario assumed that boosters do not provide high protection against Omicron and there is a large number of vaccine evading infections
‘But really this is a moment where every last one of us should in good faith start thinking about what it means to live with coronavirus like we live with flu now that we are vaccinated and what kind of society we want to live in in the future.
‘I want one which is free, which is prosperous and which is joyful in which young people can have a hope of a better future and at the moment we are not looking like we are going to deliver that if we keep on panicking every time we get a variant.’
Conservative MP Matt Vickers has also confirmed he will be voting against the Government on Tuesday as he argued the country must learn to live with coronavirus rather than impose curbs.
He told Times Radio: ‘I do not believe we should be going down the Plan B route.
‘We talked about learning to live with it, we promised people they will get these boosters in their arms and the world will come back to normal, kids will be able to go to school properly without masks on, we promised them the economy would be free, we’d be free to get things going, and that’s exactly what we need to do.
‘Otherwise we’ll be in a never-ending cycle of restrictions and I think it is the wrong way to go.’
Asked if he will be voting for ‘Plan B’, Mr Vickers said: ‘I am not, no. You’ve heard it here first.’
Pressed on how many Tory MPs could rebel, he replied: ‘I wouldn’t like to guess the number.
‘In real terms, it is not a vote we’re probably likely to overturn the Government on anyway, so I think the numbers might be irrelevant – it is about people doing what they think is right.’
Sir Keir told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that Labour MPs will be told to vote for ‘Plan B’.
‘I spoke to the government medical advisers on Monday, on Wednesday, I spoke to my own advisers yesterday and I think the measures that are going to be introduced on Tuesday are necessary because of the great threat now that the new variant poses,’ he said.
‘In those circumstances the Labour Party will show leadership, we will do what is in the public interest to protect the NHS and to protect the public.
Some 663 new cases of the strain were detected across the UK, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said, up from the 448 recorded yesterday. It takes the country’s total to 1,898, although experts suggest the true number is much higher
‘Of course I have had lots of people saying to me well of course you could take political advantage of the Prime Minister’s position and bring him down but we have always acted in the public interest throughout this pandemic.
‘We will do that on Tuesday. We will show the leadership that the Prime Minister is not able to show.’
The Labour leader claimed he will not be ‘supporting the Prime Minister on Tuesday’ but ‘supporting our NHS’ and ‘supporting the public’.
Sir Keir has previously suggested that vaccine passports would go against the ‘British instinct’.
Defending his decision to now back the rollout of the documents, he said: ‘I am concerned about the idea of vaccine passports. I am not comfortable with it but I am persuaded that it is necessary.’
