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Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said today that conservative rebels’ fears that ministers will impose coronavirus restrictions without asking MPs to vote on them are “ exaggerated. ”
The Government will ask this week to the deputies to renew the emergency powers of the coronavirus for another six months.
But Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Conservative MPs Committee, has tabled an amendment that would require a vote on the new measures “as soon as reasonably possible.”
Sir Graham is now believed to have the support of 60 of his Conservative colleagues ahead of a possible decisive vote on the measure on Wednesday.
One of the supporters of the amendment, former Brexit minister Steve Baker, argued today that “freedom dies” when governments are allowed to “exercise draconian powers without parliamentary scrutiny beforehand.”
But Mr. Dowden defended the government’s current approach of imposing rules without parliamentary votes, saying that Baker’s concerns were “a bit exaggerated.”
The Cabinet minister said the “rapidly” changing nature of the pandemic meant that the government needed to retain the “power to act quickly.”
His comments came after it was claimed that Boris Johnson is preparing to confront the rebels amid speculation that the Speaker of the Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, will rule that Sir Graham’s amendment is “out of reach” and , therefore, you cannot vote.
The Sunday Telegraph said Johnson is ready to reject Tory’s requests that the government offer votes on future rules of its own free will if the amendment is not selected.
That would leave the conservative rebels with only the ‘nuclear’ option of voting against the renewal of the Coronavirus Act to make their point, something the vast majority of the 60 MPs will not want to do.
The dispute over giving Parliament a vote on the rules before their implementation came as the Labor Party took the lead in polls over the Tories for the first time since Johnson became prime minister.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden told Sky News this morning that conservative rebels’ fears about ministers enforcing the coronavirus rules are “ overblown. ”
Boris Johnson is under pressure from Conservative MPs to give Parliament a vote on any new coronavirus restrictions before it is implemented.
Sir Graham’s amendment is designed to give MPs a vote on any new coronavirus restrictions proposed by the Government.
If he is selected by Sir Lindsay and 60 Tory MPs back him, Johnson will face the real risk of having his 85-seat working majority nullified, should opposition parties also choose to support the measure.
The government is due to ask Parliament to renew the powers contained in the Coronavirus Act for another six months on Wednesday and the rebels are hoping that Sir Lindsay will grant them a vote on Sir Graham’s amendment.
If the amendment is not selected and the government refuses to budge, it would effectively amount to the prime minister daring Conservative MPs to vote against the renewal of the law.
The vast majority of the rebels are unlikely to go that far because torpedoing the renewal of the legislation would cause massive damage to the government and restrict the ability of ministers to respond to the pandemic.
Baker told Sky News today that what the conservative rebels have come up with is a “very modest proposal,” as he expressed serious concerns about the way the rules are currently being implemented.
He said, ‘How do people think that freedom dies? It dies like this with the government wielding draconian powers, without upfront parliamentary scrutiny, undermining the rule of law by having a shifting mantle of rules that no one can understand.
But Dowden dismissed Baker’s concerns, telling Sky News: “I have great respect for Steve Baker, I really like him, but I think he’s a bit of a stretch.
“Actually, it is important that Parliament holds the government to account, which is why, for example, we will have the first debate on the government’s time on Covid.
“Of course, there will be an opportunity for deputies to debate and vote on new measures through what we call statutory instruments, there will be votes on that, for example in relation to the rule of six.”
When asked if MPs should be able to vote on restrictions before they are imposed, Mr Dowden said: “ I think it is important in a crisis like this, when things are moving very fast, that the government has the power to act fast and that’s the power. ” that the government came through with initial legislation earlier this year.
But then it is important that Members hold us accountable and vote on that and that is exactly what is happening here.
“I am very clear about it, these are very difficult choices that we are making. We have a rapidly expanding virus. We also have huge economic consequences from the decisions we are making and we have to take steps to deal with that.
“It is entirely correct that government ministers are duly controlled by Parliament through this process.”
The rebels remain hopeful that an agreement can be reached with the government so that Parliament has more voice and vote on the new restrictions.
Andrew Mitchell, the former Head of Whips, said: “When the Chairman of the 1922 Committee leads a rebellion like this, it would be an extremely careless Prime Minister who would choose to ignore it.”
1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady has introduced an amendment that would require a vote on new rules before they go into effect.
Sir Graham told the Observer that “it is essential that the House of Commons have the opportunity to debate and vote on the emergency measures before they go into effect.”
In a Sunday Telegraph article, Baker had said: “Covid-19 remains a dangerous disease for the vulnerable, but it is now clear that the situation is not as catastrophic as feared.
“It is no longer appropriate to restrict our freedoms by ministerial decree with only the retrospective approval of Parliament, often after the rules have been amended or repealed.”
The Tory rebellion came about when a poll by Opinium showed that the Labor Party now has an advantage in polls over the Tories for the first time in this parliament.
Labor now has 42 percent of the vote, three points more than a fortnight ago, and the Tories fell three points to 39 percent.
