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Keir Starmer has dealt a blow to the government’s hopes of pushing forward a Covid domestic passport scheme, expressing skepticism about the idea and saying that “British instinct” could be against them.
Ministers are consulting on the possibility of forcing people to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative coronavirus test to access crowded spaces like pubs or sporting events, and Downing Street insists a decision has yet to be made.
The Labor leader, speaking in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, said he would not make any formal decisions before studying the government’s proposals and spoke about the need for a cross-party consensus.
“I think this is really difficult and I am not going to pretend there is a clear black and white, yes, not an easy answer to this. It’s extremely difficult, ”Starmer told the newspaper.
But while he said the idea of vaccination certificates for international travel seemed inevitable, he suggested that public opinion was likely to be opposed to the idea of a national version.
“My instinct is that … [if] we have the virus properly under control, mortality rates are close to zero, hospital admissions are very, very low, that British instinct in those circumstances will be against vaccine passports, “said the Labor leader.
Starmer also said the government should come up with a policy anyway, and not leave the decision to the pubs, as Boris Johnson put it, saying, “I think this idea that we outsource this to individual owners is just wrong in principle. “
While his stance is far from categorical, it will encourage libertarian-minded Conservative MPs, who will hope that if Labor opposes national vaccine passports (the Liberal Democrats have already said they will vote against it) the idea could be defeated in parliament.
Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister leading the policy deliberations, has met with a number of MPs this week ahead of the release of the interim findings of the panel on vaccine passports, which is due Monday.
In general, Gove is seen as a strong supporter of the plan. But officials and ministers are said to be divided on whether certification should apply only to mass events, for which there is broad support, or additionally to smaller venues, which is more controversial.
The plan is to make the certification available in a modified NHS app, which would detail whether a person has been vaccinated or recently tested or has antibodies to the virus, having previously tested positive.
Another aspect of the plan being considered is whether making vaccination a condition of pub entry could increase vaccination rates among younger people, when the program moves to offer them shots in the coming months.
