No prime minister wants to be dependent on the opposition to get the government’s business through the House of Commons. But this is the position Boris Johnson will likely find himself in when it comes to ‘Covid status certificates’, I argue in the magazine this week.
Labour are sounding sceptical of vaccine passports at the moment
More than 40 Tory MPs have already signed a pledge to oppose vaccine passports, and the government’s majority is 80. ‘It is just down to Starmer. If he whips against, Boris will lose,’ says one of the leaders of the Tory rebellion. The policy has hit a nerve in the Conservative party. Tory opponents of Covid status certificates see them as a step towards identity cards and a shift in the balance of power between the individual and the state. Those against the scheme think the alternative is a return to normal life and the status quo ante.
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