It is an index of the fissures in the British legislature, coupled with the deadly resurgence of the Covid variant called Omicron, that Boris Johnson has had to seek the support of the Opposition Labour Party in the face of the vote by at least 100 Conservative MPs against plans for what they call “Covid passes”.
Happily, for 10 Downing Street, the measure was passed thanks to the support of Labour (369 votes to 126). Not many will dispute Shakespeare’s contention that “All’s Well That Ends Well”, but there is little doubt that Britain’s Prime Minister has suffered a huge rebellion. (Earlier, of course, there was Theresa May’s setback over Brexit.) It is a measure too of the in-house opposition that 99 of Mr Johnson’s Conservative MPs voted against his policy that envisages a Covid pass ~ either proof of vaccination or a negative test ~ for entry to a list of venues, including night clubs.
The Tory rebellion, which has happened in parallel to the government’s effort to contain the spread of Omicron, truncates the 80-seat majority in the House of Commons that Mr Johnson secured in 2019. The sheer scale of the rebellion mirrors the mounting pressure that the Prime Minister has had to countenance from within his own party over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tuesday’s vote was a serious blow to Mr. Johnson’s standing with his own MPs, with the rebels coming from across the party ~ right-wing lockdown skeptics, former Cabinet ministers, centrists, Brexiteers, Remainers and veterans. There was speculation in London that government whips had succeeded in pacifying the rebels, but that did not come to pass, so there will also be renewed questions about Chief Whip Mark Spencer’s performance.
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting told Sky News in the aftermath of the vote that the result reflects “the shattered authority of Boris Johnson.” Conservative MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said a leadership challenge to Johnson next year has now “got to be on the cards.” Clifton-Brown said “he’s got to realise that and he’s got to change.”
One senior Tory said it was “more than a warning shot,” describing the rebellion as “a broadside aimed at the PM.” Another said Mr Johnson was “lucky” that Christmas is around the corner, as it could give the embattled Prime Minister an opportunity to regroup. The extent to which the prime minister’s hands are tied on Covid by his skeptical backbenchers will define the dynamics between parliamentary politics and health policy over the next few weeks. Mr Johnson conceded before the vote that should he need to implement stricter Covid measures in the weeks ahead, he would recall parliament and give MPs a vote before new restrictions were implemented.
The major concession makes any further measures extremely difficult politically, as the number of rebels would probably only increase. Once the holiday season cheer ends, Mr Johnson must brace for a not so happy 2022.