Boris Johnson is facing a fresh backbench Tory rebellion today over his ‘nanny state’ 10pm pub curfew as a senior Cabinet minister blames drinkers for the detested new rule.
Libertarian MPs are said to be considering whether they can force a Parliamentary vote on the new law brought in by the Prime Minister last week.
The move is putting huge pressure on hospitality businesses already on the brink of collapse amid questions over whether it is effective at reducing the spread of Covid-19.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock was hit with a barrage of criticism yesterday in the Commons, with one MP branding the curfew ‘socialist’ and warning it was destroying the economy.
But Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick today insisted that the curfew was needed and laid the blame at people enjoying an evening in pubs not following the rules.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘The advice that I received, along with other ministers, was that, because the virus thrives on close contact between individuals, the longer one stays in pubs and restaurants and cafes, inevitably, the more likely it is that the virus will spread.
‘And, the later that you stay and the more drinks that you have, the more likely you are to have close contact with other individuals and the less likely you are to comply.’
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick today (left) insisted that the curfew was needed and laid the blame at people enjoying an evening in pubs not following the rules. But last night Tory Philip Davies (right) called on the Health Secretary to ‘start acting like a Conservative’ and stop presiding over a ‘nanny state’
Revellers leaving pubs in Liverpool’s Concert Square last night ahead of the curfew
The move is putting huge pressure on hospitality businesses already on the brink of collapse amid questions over whether it is effective at reducing the spread of Covid-19
Backbenchers are said to be examining whether they can force a vote when MPs hold retrospective debates on the laws introduced under emergency powers by ministers, the Telegraph reported.
Mr Hancock was accused of not acting like a true Conservative by a member of his own party last night as he came under fire over the curfew.
Arguing that the ‘arbitrary’ curfew is limiting people’s freedoms, Tory Philip Davies called on the Health Secretary to ‘start acting like a Conservative’ and stop presiding over a ‘nanny state’.
The Shipley MP told Mr Hancock that the 10pm curfew is a ‘socialist approach which is serving no purpose at all apart from the further collapse of the economy’.
He said: ‘Is the Secretary of State aware of the damage the arbitrary 10pm curfew is doing to pubs, restaurants, bowling alleys and casinos?
‘Is he aware of the jobs that are being lost, all just to see people congregating on the streets instead and shop staff getting more abuse?
‘When will the Secretary of State start acting like a Conservative with a belief in individual responsibility and abandon this arbitrary, nanny state, socialist approach which is serving no purpose at all apart from the further collapse of the economy and to erode our freedoms?’
Mr Hancock replied that he ‘profoundly’ disagrees with Mr Davies as he believes in ‘individual responsibility and the promotion of freedom, subject to not harming others’.
The Health Secretary added: ‘So it is perfectly reasonable to make the argument that we should just let the virus rip, I just think that the hundreds of thousands of deaths that would follow is not a price that anyone should pay.’
Tory former minister Andrew Jones urged Mr Hancock to ‘commit to keeping the restrictions under the closest possible review’.
Mr Jones said: ‘Restrictions curbing when we can go to the pub is against the DNA of our country, but we are in exceptional times and I recognise that includes taking measures which people don’t like and ministers don’t like having to introduce.’
Other MPs, including Tory Sarah Dines (Derbyshire Dales), asked whether the 10pm curfew could be reduced to a regionalised policy only enforced in areas with higher infection rates.
Earlier this week, seven Conservative MPs rebelled to vote against the renewal of emergency coronavirus powers.
They were Peter Bone (Wellingborough), Mr Davies, Philip Hollobone (Kettering), Esther McVey (Tatton), Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West), Charles Walker (Broxbourne), and William Wragg (Hazel Grove).
And the Tory chairman of the Science and Technology Committee, Greg Clark, wrote to Mr Hancock this week asking him to publish the ‘scientific evidence’ underpinning the curfew.
‘It is important that the Government is transparent about the scientific advice that it draws on to inform policy decisions so that the reasons for them can be seen and understood,’ he said in a letter to the minister,.
‘Science proceeds through openness and robust scrutiny and it is important that this approach is followed by the Government during the pandemic.’