Threat of MP rebellion adds to Johnson's woes

Some backbenchers from ruling party are set to vote against virus restrictions

Two years on from the general election that gave him a Parliamentary majority of 80 seats, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson could end up relying on votes from the opposition Labour Party to get his latest COVID-19 restriction proposals approved in Parliament this week, as he faces the biggest internal rebellion against his leadership so far.

The so-called Plan B of measures, which includes the mandatory wearing of face masks in most public indoor places, and a requirement to have proof of vaccination status to enter many venues, has been brought into play because of the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

The Guardian newspaper reports that as many as 100 members of Parliament from Johnson's own Conservative Party could vote against the proposals, in the biggest objection yet to his leadership, which has come in for increasing criticism in recent months, provoking debate over whether he may even soon face a leadership challenge.

A series of damaging high-profile incidents, most recently over government Christmas parties last year when the country was returning to lockdown, has seen Labour open up a significant lead in many public opinion polls, leaving some Conservative MPs concerned about their position, and pointing the finger of blame at Downing Street.

At the December 2019 election, the seat of Barrow and Furness in Cumbria was won by the Conservatives for the first time since 1987. Its MP, Simon Fell, told the Guardian that although he did not underestimate the seriousness of the Omicron variant, he could not support the measures proposed, most specifically the so-called COVID passport of vaccine status.

"We are not a 'papers please' society, and such passports would be an unethical and discriminatory step," he said. "I will not be supporting their introduction."

Another MP, William Wragg, who is on the executive committee of the influential backbench Conservative MPs' 1922 Committee, said he felt "immense frustration" at the government deciding to back a policy it had previously said it would not, adding that such measures were "jumping the gun" and "going too fast".

Another backbencher, Steve Baker, the self-styled 'hardman of Brexit', who in 2018 submitted a letter of no confidence in then-Prime Minister Theresa May over her Brexit policy, and who has also criticized the current government's net-zero carbon emissions plans, said he would "of course" vote against the measures.

"I'll vote against extending mask mandates, and I'll vote against mandatory vaccination as a condition of (National Health Service) employment," he told BBC Breakfast.

"I think all these things are wrong, they're disproportionate and there's inadequate evidence that they're required. And I really think this is the crucial point here now, what's on the table is what kind of society we're creating as we go forward."

Later this week, voters will have their chance to pass judgement on Johnson's government, when a by-election takes place in North Shropshire.

Usually a very safe Conservative seat, its former MP Owen Paterson resigned last month after government attempts to reverse his suspension from Parliament over having broken lobbying rules provoked public outrage.