Tuesday, December 14, 2021
New corona rules decided
Johnson prevails against rebels
The omicron variant, which is spreading rapidly in Great Britain, is forcing Prime Minister Johnson to act. But the tightened corona measures are met with great resistance within their own party. During the vote in parliament, he was saved by the opposition’s rifle aid.
The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson brought a tightening of the corona rules in England against great opposition from his own ranks and with the votes of the opposition through parliament. In the evening, after an emotional debate, the MPs voted with a majority for the measures that include tightening the mask requirement, compulsory vaccination for medical staff and the particularly controversial 3-G certificates for nightclubs and major events.
When voting on the evidence, 369 MPs voted for and 126 against. According to the BBC, nearly 100 of the votes against came from among Johnson’s Tory party. This is the biggest rebellion against Johnson since his election victory in 2019. Johnson has a majority of 79 votes in the lower house, so he was only able to bring the current tightening through parliament with the votes of the opposition.
Tory MP Charles Walker, who is a member of the rebels, told the BBC after the vote that Johnson still had a lot of support in the party, but had gone a step too far here. The rebellion was a “cry of pain” from the conservatives, who see the vaccination records as a significant curtailment of individual freedoms and personal responsibility. When asked whether the deviants would block further tightening that might become necessary because of the Omikron variant, Walker said: “Not necessarily. But: the mood has changed.”
Warning of “tidal wave” Omikron
Johnson lifted the corona rules in the largest British part of the country, England, in the summer. At that time he spoke of a “cautious but irrevocable” way out of the crisis. But Omikron throws the premier through the bill, especially since it becomes clear that the much-praised vaccination program does not seem to be enough. At the weekend Johnson warned of the “tidal wave” Omikron.
The variant is spreading rapidly in the country, so Johnson had to row back. Conservative hardliners resent that. The rebellious Tory MPs fear not only that tougher restrictions will stifle the recovery of the UK economy. Above all, they argue that the measures are difficult to implement when it appears that even government officials or Johnson himself do not obey the rules.
Prime Minister under pressure
The pressure on the prime minister has increased again since the weekend. The Sunday Mirror newspaper reported that a year ago during the Corona lockdown, Johnson personally – albeit virtually – took part in a Christmas party on Downing Street, at which more people than were allowed in one room at a time.
The photos showed that neither the head of government, who apparently acted as the quiz master, nor his employees, who were next to him and dressed for Christmas, wore a mask. Johnson denies there were Christmas parties on Downing Street. Only a few days ago, however, a video from the seat of government aroused considerable doubts about his statements.
For Boris Johnson it is “perhaps the most difficult week” of his term of office, which began in 2019, as the PA news agency predicted at the weekend. The delicate vote in the House of Commons was just the beginning. At the end of the week, the results of the supposed Christmas celebrations are to be announced. There is also a by-election for a parliamentary mandate on Thursday. Incumbent Owen Paterson, a fellow party member of Johnson’s party, was forced to resign over his involvement in a lobbying scandal. Now the Conservative Party threatens to lose its seat in the Tory stronghold of North Shropshire in western England to the Liberal Democrats.
The opposition has long since targeted Johnson. Meanwhile, the Labor Party is urging the Tories to withdraw their trust in the prime minister. “Boris Johnson is unfit to lead our country,” tweeted opposition leader Keir Starmer recently. The party leader wants his party’s support for the government’s measures to be understood as an act of common sense. “Getting vaccinated, wearing masks and working from home will prevent infections,” the politician told the BBC in the evening. It is a patriotic duty to adhere to these rules.