MPs overwhelmingly approve lockdown measures for England

The measures were passed with a huge majority. Credit: PA

MPs have voted to approve regulations enabling the new national lockdown in England by 524 votes to 16.

With Labour supporting the lockdown, the vote in the recalled House of Commons passed comfortably with a majority of 508.

Boris Johnson, however, did face rebellion within his ranks, with Conservative MPs outlining their concerns before the vote.

Former minister Sir Desmond Swayne branded lockdowns a “complete failure” while Sir Robert Syms said the measures, which are in place until March 31, were “essentially a blank cheque for three months to Public Health England to do what they wish”.

The 16 to vote against the restrictions came from the Conservative Party and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

Here is the full list of MPs who did not vote for the national lockdown:

  • Graham Brady, Conservative

  • Philip Davies, Conservative

  • Richard Drax, Conservative

  • Karl McCartney, Conservative

  • Stephen McPartland, Conservative

  • Esther McVey, Conservative

  • Anne Marie Morris, Conservative

  • Andrew Rosindell, Conservative

  • Desmond Swayne, Conservative

  • Robert Syms, Conservative

  • Charles Walker, Conservative

  • David Warburton, Conservative

  • Paul Girvan, DUP

  • Carla Lockhart, DUP

  • Ian Paisley, DUP

  • Sammy Wilson, DUP

No vote was recorded for 25 MPs, although this does not automatically mean they abstained.

The regulations were supported by 322 Conservative MPs, 193 Labour, seven Liberal Democrats, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, and Independent MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Claudia Webbe.

New Forest MP Sir Desmond Swayne was among those to speak out against the measures. Credit: PA

The prime minister had earlier warned it would take time to ease the restrictions, which could be in place until the end of March.

Mr Johnson, who came under pressure from senior Tories to commit to easing the restrictions as soon as possible, said there would be “substantial opportunities” for relaxation before March.

But he warned there would not be a “big bang” where all the curbs on freedoms were removed at once.

His comments came as the Government said a further 1,041 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Wednesday – the highest daily reported total since April 21.

The number of Covid-19 patients in hospital in England has, meanwhile, reached a record 27,727 as of 8am on January 6, according to the latest figures from NHS England. The figure is up 22% on a week ago.

The prime minister said there was “no choice” but to issue the stay-at-home order and close schools given the spread of coronavirus, particularly the more infectious new variant.

Boris Johnson said earlier there was no choice but to go into lockdown once again. Credit: PA

As a result of the measures – which will see the majority of pupils kept out of classrooms until at least after the February half-term – GCSE, AS and A-level examinations will once again be cancelled this summer.

They will be replaced by school assessments as ministers and regulators seek to avoid the chaos caused last year by the use of an algorithm to determine grades.

Addressing MPs after the recall of the Commons from its Christmas break, Mr Johnson said there was now a race between the spread of the virus and the delivery of vaccines to the most vulnerable.

Mr Johnson said: “Our emergence from the lockdown cocoon will not be a big bang but a gradual unwrapping.”

The regulations run until March 31 “not because we expect the full national lockdown to continue until then but to allow a steady, controlled and evidence-led move down through the tiers on a regional basis”.

The Prime Minister told MPs that there would be “continuous review” of the rules with a statutory requirement to look at them every fortnight and a legal obligation to remove them if they are no longer necessary.

A man passes an information sign notifying people about the national lockdown Credit: Steve Parsons/PA

“We are in a tough final stretch, made only tougher by the new variant,” Mr Johnson said.

“After the marathon of last year we are indeed now in a sprint, a race to vaccinate the vulnerable faster than the virus can reach them.

“Every needle in every arm makes a difference.”

The Government is giving the vaccine to as many priority patients as possible with a second shot after 12 weeks, rather than holding back supplies to offer a booster dose three weeks after the first jab.

(PA Graphics) Credit: PA Graphics

The World Health Organisation said it would not recommend that approach, instead suggesting the interval between doses should be between three and four weeks.

There are also concerns about the speed with which vaccines can go through the necessary safety checks to be deployed and Mr Johnson also faced questions about the bureaucracy which is making it harder for people to volunteer to help deliver the vaccines.

Seven mass vaccination will open next week with sites in London, Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Surrey and Stevenage.

(PA Graphics) Credit: PA Graphics

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi admitted the target of vaccinating around 14 million people in the highest priority groups – including the elderly, those with clinical needs, care home residents and staff and frontline NHS workers – by February 15 was “stretching”.

Some 1.3 million people have already received either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Oxford/AstraZeneca jab.

But Mr Johnson confirmed that just 10% of care home residents had received a vaccine, along with 14% of staff.