Parliament will vote on whether to renew the Coronavirus Act later this month, a year and a half after it was first introduced to grant ’emergency’ powers to the Government. A clause within the Act means that it will automatically lapse in March 2022. Ministers are keen to keep hold of their powers until then due in part to fears of ‘potential challenges’ this winter. The Financial Times has the story.
Boris Johnson, Prime Minister, will face his first parliamentary battle of the autumn over the measure when the House of Commons returns from its summer recess next week. Ministers are preparing for a fight with anti-lockdown backbench Conservative MPs over the Coronavirus Act, which handed the Government sweeping emergency powers in March 2020.
The legislation includes lifting restrictions on public bodies, such as limits on school class sizes, and allows the police to force those suspected of having the virus into self-isolation. …
When parliament last voted on the act, five months ago, the then Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, said he could not rule out a further extension but said his own preference was for it not to be renewed.
But ministers will argue that emergency powers are still required for another six months, despite limited restrictions in place at the moment, in light of potential challenges ahead this winter.
Officials at the Department for Health and Social Care said the extension of the legislation was necessary because coronavirus cases across the U.K. were currently running high, hospitalisations were rising and a difficult flu season was expected. Ministers are also braced for a surge of cases when schools return to England in the next week.
One Government insider said the Government had no choice but to keep the legislation in place. “The Coronavirus Act is going to be one of the trickier bills to pass. We’re gearing up for a fight with our own MPs, who are going to be reluctant to support it.”
30 Tory MPs rebelled in March’s vote to renew the act and the rebels believe that the number will be higher this month.
Mark Harper, the Conservative MP who Chairs the influential Covid Recovery Group of lockdown sceptics, said there was no need to renew the legislation which contained “the most draconian detention powers in modern British legal history”, citing the provisions for indefinite detention.
“Our vaccine roll-out has been a huge success. We have seen a dramatic and welcome fall in people suffering from serious disease and death from Covid as a result,” he said.
“We are going to have to learn to live with this virus, and retaining sweeping powers of detention in the Coronavirus Act is not consistent with this. What justification can there be for extending these measures?”
Worth reading in full.
Stop Press: “The crisis point of the pandemic has passed,” says David Davis MP. “So it is now time to roll back the extensive powers unwisely handed over to the State.”
Discussion
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I thought the snail-paced ‘unlocking’ was supposed to be ‘irreversible’- in which case, surely there is no longer any need for emergency powers? Could it be the Johnson was, in fact, lying through his teeth when he said this and that we are in for more lockdown fun this winter?
They will hang onto to this power for as long as possible…that’s what psychopaths’ do. Running roughshod over society because our ‘compliant’ society lets them.
Davis is the best PM we never had.
no suprise..they’re piling money into test and trace
UK – Test & Trace Contracts
at least one, not ending til 2023
COVID Infection Survey (CIS)Services Related to COVID-19 – CIS Prime Provider [Award]
Michael Curzon: I take exception to the use of ‘Boris’ in your headline. This is not the Daily Mail. ‘Boris’ is a familiar term – applicable to someone we like or else love to hate. We LOATHE the tyrant JOHNSON! In the words of Herr Flick – ‘Attend to it!’. Thank you.
I’m really tired of the “saved x number of lives” argument. Bearing in mind we don’t know how many people have had the virus without any symptoms, we have absolutely no idea how many people would have contracted the virus and how many would have died of it without the vaccine. We could just as easily say “without potatoes, thousands more would have been killed by flu”
Indeed. The Fat Controller banned antibody tests last August. I was lucky – I’d had my test two days before. Apparently (yeah, right) he was afraid we’d stop wearing masks if we knew we’d had it. That was the point when I realised that this ‘pandemic’ was in fact the most audacious plot against the people we’ve ever seen.
I’ve given up hoping that “our” MPs will vote to rein in this dictatorial Government and restore Civil Liberties. They are bought and paid for lobby fodder.
It was decided a long time ago that the scamdemic wouldn’t be over until 2022; hence Australia and NZ announcing that their borders would remain closed until then.
Boris & Co, the opposition & Co, should all be fired and out on trial
Why are you referring to him affectionately as ‘Boris’? You wouldn’t refer to Mengele as ‘Josef’. Mr Johnson is a toxic irresponsible creep who appears to be totally controlled by an opaque satanic agenda intending impoverishment, enslavement and genocide of humanity.
As Peter Hitchens wisely observed when all this nonsense began, once you start imposing draconian restrictions of people’s liberty it becomes the norm and can not be undone. The Government,aided by an equally authoritarian opposition, will never give up these powers, they are here to stay. Worse still the public have become enthusiastic cheer leaders for their own enslavement just as Aldous Huxley predicted.
Of course the MPs will vote for the extension to keep the public under their thumb. The MPs will have no intention of following whatever nonsensical rules the government deem necessary, as they will rely on hasty ‘get out of jail cards’ to minimise disruption to themselves. The rules are only for the plebs.
The Act of Suppressacy
“and a difficult flu season was expected”.
How the fuck do they know? Well of course they do, it’s in the script stupid!
There actually two Acts of Parliament being used by the Government in their pan(dem)ic.
Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984
The Coronavirus Act 2020
Both are pretty onerous, and the betting is on they will remain on the statute book.
As Lord Sumption, formerly of the Suprem Court pointed out; PHA 1984 allows for secondary legislation to control the INFECTIOUS. Police and Magistrates can order the infections into isolation, but no powers exist over the healthy.
The lockdowns could have been brought in under Blair’s Civil Contingency Act, but any powers granted under it can only be for 30 day and thereafter must be approved by Parliament every 7 days or they lapse automatically.
What the Coronavirus Act does allow, is the Chancellor to shake the magic money tree for the furlough payments, UC increase and covid loans.
Behind the loveable, cheeky, bumbling act that Johnson has got down to a fine art over the years – occassionally that mask slips to reveal the real Boris Johnson underneath – this is the bigoted mindset we are dealing with here ….
He’s projecting there rather a great deal…
Of course HIS illegitimate chidlren are different
Starmer is once again being offered an open goal to humiliate Boris which he will miss. If he whipped his MP’s to oppose the measure it would fail, given the likely scale of the Tory rebellion.
And another 6 months, and then another 6 months and so on until it becomes the new normal, which was always his plan. They won’t stand up to him, they will be bought off through their own self interest.
They’re hoping to be paid off, more likely to be killed off
Prime Puppet, Fat Fuk Pfeffel Pig can’t wait to get us back under full authoritarian control after his irreversible roadmap to freedom.
Soon enough we’ll be listening (well, I won’t) to his sombre message about how he is ‘reluctantly’ plunging us back into lockdown to save Christmas.
Which will of course then have to be cancelled to save Easter, …………….
My poor deluded family are making plans for Christmas. I have tried to engage in some “expectation management” with them – along the lines of “it won’t be happening”.
Johnson is a lunatic – Thatcher was ousted for a lot less – Johnson is a danger to anyone who believes in our freedoms – the man is a narcissist – a tyrant drunk on power – he’s completely unhinged.
Thatcher was ousted because she had seen through Brussels; Bozo wants to be Brussels!
Thatcher alienated colleagues that were previously on her side
“…. and a difficult flu season” is expected,
Should read… And a difficult ADE season is expected that we will blame on flu.
Don’t forget that Income Tax is only a 200 year old “temporary” tax.
Entirely predictable, by next summer it will be made a permanent facet of law. I genuinely hate Johnson.
Wow. Due to expire in March 2022.
They’re taking a long run at it, to make sure that by the time the debate comes around, the government has had time to brainwash the public, the public has had time to get used to the idea and the likes of David Davis (if legit) will be sidelined.
The “Coronavirus Act” was put in place for 2 years, with 6 month extension if needed(!) So it’s not due to “end” for 6 months…when they will extend it, and make it permanent, probably. In the meantime they go through the pretence and pantomime of debating whether to continue the powers every six months. It a forgone conclusion. Don’t be shocked by it. Remember this only ends when WE end it!
Randox [pharm/testing company] has a billboard advert in my locale advertising for staff for their “covid team” – if this thing was over why would they be advertising for long term staff? They obvs know something we don’t. It doesn’t bode well.
How can it still be classed as an ’emergency’ when the tyrants have just enjoyed a month’s holiday during the recess?
It was never an emergency, just a projected emergency based on insane projections, backed up by some dodgy footage of people dropping dead in the streets in China and lorries taking away bodies in Italy.
“Ministers are keen to keep hold of their powers until then due in part to fears of ‘potential challenges’ this winter.”
Let me fix that for you
“Ministers are keen to keep hold of their powers indefinitely because that’s what politicians do if they can get away with it, and covid gives them the perfect cover to do that”
We want emergency powers now because we believe we will need to use them in future is a contorted way of saying We want emergency powers despite there’s no need for them. If they will be needed in future, they should be granted in future, based on an assessment of the requirements of an actual situation.
Indeed. This isn’t rocket science, is it? No current emergency, no current need for emergency legislation.
But this has to be on Johnson, personally. Renewing this loathsome legislation is such an absurdly, grotesquely unnecessary decision, and it’s his decision and nobody else’s.
You are making a far too sensible suggestion for any current politician – perhaps a few honourable exceptions I admit – so it has zero chance of getting any traction.
And that is the whole issue….
Dear DS writing team
I’m not prone to rudeness but as long as you keep calling the PM “Boris” you can fuck off as far as I am concerned
He’s not our mate. He’s the fucking enemy, who has waged war on his own people and is doing the work of Satan.
I agree; calling him the fat pig dictator (for that is what he is) would be more appropriate.
Big Blubber might be an appropriate name for the scum in number 10, fat and obsessed with surveillance.
That might confuse people as you could be referring to Dianne Abbott!
Julian – I still call him ‘Boris’! But with a lip-curl, a sneer and a spit – if only you could see!!!
Oh and BTW yes I DID vote for him. Yes I’m a moron. But there again I didn’t expect to be ruled by his evil doppelganger!!
The usual controlled opposition will bleat on about the Coronavirus Act being draconian blah, blah, blah, but we need to keep it going ‘just in case’…
Well, no we do not, and it is about time the majority of people grew-up, started protecting their children (they do not belong to the state) and started saying “NO”.
Parliament will vote to renew the Coronavirus Act
fixed it for you
Davis has my vote for Boris’ replacement. Actually, on Covid, even May has made Johnson look like Chamberlin.
If things get bad, here is how democracy works. You call Parliament together (virtually if needed) or debate facts as they are at that moment and the best policy. You don’t give out blank checks ahead of time unless you want to end up bankrupt.
Davis would be better than the current PM but I think he and probably every other MP has bought into the mass vaccination madness
Davis has also bought into the carbon capture stuff too – but you’re absolutely right … I would take Davis over the current mad ba stard at No.10 – he’s a complete lunatic.
Sorry but it seems you haven’t learnt from the past 20 years. Vote for anyone you like in Westminster, but you’re going to get the same politics. Davis might be saying all the things you want to hear – that’s his job – but the second he’d step in to the PM job you’d see a completely different person.
Yep, it’s the system that’s the problem not just the individuals. We need to scrap the party system altogether and vote for ‘real politicians’ who actually give a shit about us.
At least Chamberlain was an honorable and honest man however misguided, unlike that opportunist liar, Johnson.
Good grief. Very insightful.
David was the front-runner for Conservative leader until the dopey, largely-unknown Cameron appeared from nowhere and took it. Now we know why, because this scam has been planned a long time. Davis was too honest and straightforward a politician to be trusted with such a massive conspiracy against the people. The best PM we were never allowed to have.