MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK gets COVID-19 measures passed thanks to Labour and despite Tory rebellion

Johnson insisted the “measures are proportionate because a huge peak of Omicron cases is coming.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson got his new batch of restrictive measures against COVID-19 approved but to achieve that he had to overcome fierce resistance from almost 100 MPs from his Tory ranks.

Johnson insisted the “measures are proportionate because a huge peak of Omicron cases is coming.”

Professor Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer who advises the government, said it was too early to know how severe the Omicron strain is, but “a significant increase in hospitalizations” was to be expected.

Former cabinet minister and physician, Dr. Liam Fox, said he opposed mandatory immunizations. “We have to be very careful not to set precedents, that they are turning people in the country into criminals in these areas when in reality it is a public health problem,” he said.

Relying on Labour votes to pass deeply unpopular measures among his MPs is likely to inflict further damage on the prime minister's already conflictual relationship with his dissident conservative supporters. Almost 100 Conservative lawmakers voted against some new coronavirus restrictions, dealing Johnson another embarrassing blow.

The new measures include wearing masks in public places and using COVID-19 passes for some venues.

Johnson is already under fire over scandals such as reported parties in his Downing Street office last year - when Britain was in a COVID-19 lockdown - and a pricey refurbishment of his apartment. Hence, analysts are uncertain whether Tuesday's voting was a true belief against the draconian nature of the measures or if they aimed at the Prime Minister himself because of his self-inflicted missteps and gaffes that keep damaging the Party's image. At any rate, Conservative Party insiders quoted by Reuters hoped the vote will be a “wake-up call” for Johnson to reset his agenda.

“I'm still backing him. But he's got to change,” said Conservative lawmaker Geoffrey Clifton-Brown.

“I am sure that the prime minister will understand the strength of feeling within the party about the constraint of liberties,” Conservative former minister David Jones told Reuters.

Britain reported 59,610 new COVID-19 infections Tuesday, the highest figure since early January and the fifth-highest recorded since the outbreak of the pandemic in March last year. More than 5,300 cases of Omicron have been recorded, with 10 people hospitalized. One person has died after contracting the variant, which is set to become the dominant strain in London.