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The Labor Party is “very sympathetic” with an attempt by Conservative MPs to increase parliamentary scrutiny on the coronavirus restrictions in England, said shadow justice secretary David Lammy.
Senior Conservative Sir Graham Brady has tabled an amendment that would allow MPs to vote on changes to the lockdown rules.
Several Conservative MPs and Liberal Democrats have also voiced their support for the measure.
The government has said it is working closely with parliamentarians “to ensure that they can hold the government to account.”
Mr Lammy told the BBC’s Andrew Marr that he was “very understanding” of the amendment.
“We need more transparency … and we should be debating the regulations and rules for the country,” he said.
However, he avoided compromising his support for Sir Graham, noting that the Labor Party would table its own amendment and wait and see if it was selected by the Speaker of the Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, this week.
In March, Parliament passed the Coronavirus Law. It gave the government powers to respond to the pandemic, including measures such as postponing local elections, closing pubs and allowing the courts to use live links.
Powers granted by law have a limited duration and can only be extended with the approval of the House of Commons.
MPs will be asked to renew powers on Wednesday, however several have raised concerns, arguing that they should be able to debate and vote on changes to the lockdown restrictions before they are implemented.
Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge Sunday show, conservative Steve Baker said: “How do people think that freedom dies? It dies like this with the government exercising draconian powers, without prior parliamentary scrutiny, undermining the rule of law to the have a shifting mantle of rules that no one can understand. “
The BBC’s parliamentary correspondent Mark D’arcy says the initial decision is that the president is unlikely to select Sir Graham’s amendment, meaning it will not be put to a vote.
But, he says, the Speaker considers the breadth of support for an amendment, including its level of cross-party appeal, so the support of Labor figures would influence his decision.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey also said he was “extremely sympathetic” to the movements of the conservative rebels and accused the government of failing to go to Parliament “when it should have.”
However, he added that the amendment “did not go far enough” arguing that the original Coronavirus Act “failed the people.”
Specifically, he pointed to a clause in the law that removed parts of the councils’ duty to provide care for people with disabilities.
“I think it is outrageous that the government legislates to take away people’s rights to care,” he said.
The government has said that it is “determined to take appropriate measures to protect” those most vulnerable to the disease and that the care provisions implemented in the Coronavirus Act should only be used when absolutely necessary.
