The government has announced that wearing face masks while shopping will become mandatory from 27 July. It’s fair to say though that some Conservative backbenchers aren’t best pleased about the decision.
‘Nothing would make me less likely to go shopping than the thought of having to mask up’, Tory MP Desmond Swayne rallied in the House of Commons today. The MP for New Forest West argued that this is a ‘monstrous imposition against myself and a number of outraged and reluctant constituents’. (It’s not clear whether Swayne’s outrage applies to all face coverings: the MP has happily admitted to wearing blackface at a fancy-dress party in the past.)
The Health Secretary Matt Hancock was left to respond in the Commons that ‘the balance in the need to restrict the spread of the virus while also allowing the ancient liberties of a gentleman to go shopping, is a difficult balance to strike’.
Ah, those ancient shopping liberties.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in