Boris Johnson facing parliamentary defeat over Covid powers
Boris Johnson is facing his first parliamentary defeat since winning the 2019 election, with up to 60 Tory MPs prepared to defy party whips and vote for an amendment to new Covid legislation.
Legislation to extend powers allowing the Prime Minister to unilaterally impose coronavirus restrictions by a further six months will come before the House of Commons on Wednesday.
However, an amendment to the legislation by Graham Brady, chair of the powerful 1922 committee of backbench Tories, would force the government to get parliamentary approval for all new coronavirus measures.
It is believed there are enough Tory MPs in favour of the amendment for it to pass if all opposition parties vote for it too.
Shadow culture secretary Jo Stevens told Sky News today that Labour would “likely” back the amendment, while Tory backbencher Steve Baker said the current situation “is not a fit environment for free people”.
“Liberty dies…with government exercising draconian powers without parliamentary scrutiny in advance,” he said.
Brady told the Observer: “It is essential that the House of Commons should have the opportunity to debate and vote on emergency measures before they come into force.”
The Tory revolt is a sign of growing unrest among the backbenches, which has been bubbling under for months now.
Johnson’s response to coronavirus has been widely criticised, with an Opinium poll released yesterday showing the government had a -20 rating when it came to its efforts against the virus.
This has seen Labour take a three-point lead in that same survey, marking the first lead in a major poll for the party under Sir Keir Starmer.
Some Tory MPs that won their seat in traditional Labour areas last year are reportedly nervous about the party’s popularity and the prospect of being out of office in 2024.
Many of the parliamentary party’s libertarian and right-wing MPs are outraged at the government’s willingness to swiftly apply new coronavirus restrictions, the amount the Treasury has spent during the pandemic and speculation that Rishi Sunak is considering tax rises to pay for the Budget deficit.