The British Parliament passed new restrictions …

Despite the fact that dozens of Tory MPs rebelled against UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, The House of Commons has approved the new measures proposed by the government to contain the coronavirus. From this Wednesday, containment gives way to a stricter version of the system of restrictions which puts 99% of the English population on high or very high alert and forces the partial or total closure of pubs and restaurants, depending on the region. The measures were approved by 291 votes in favor to 78 against after a heated debate lasting nearly seven hours.

Present at the session, Johnson asked parliament for cooperation and said the UK must “stay calm” until the covid-19 vaccines are approved and distributed. The vote against 55 conservatives shows the degree of dissatisfaction before the measures which consider that they restrict the individual freedoms of the British. It is biggest revolt against government since Johnson’s triumph by absolute majority in the general elections of December 12, 2019.

Johnson’s defense

The British Prime Minister justified his three-tier restriction plan by saying that Britain “cannot relax” while waiting for the vaccine to arrive. Johnson opened the debate in the House of Commons before MPs vote on the various restrictions that will be applied in England from Wednesday. The conservative leader He assured that the scientific arguments in favor of the new restrictions are “convincing” and asked for the support of his majority of 364 deputies, given the abstention announced in advance by the Labor opposition.

“With the epidemic spreading widely across the country, there are reasons to apply the levels by area,” the prime minister said. Based on the aforementioned three-level plan (medium, high and very high), 99% of England will be subject to the two highest alert levels. They will be subject to strict restrictions such as a ban on seeing family and friends inside. Shops and gyms will open across the country, but the 23 million people at the highest alert level will see bars, cinemas and theaters closed.

“I accept that this is not a return to normalcy but it is much closer” on his part that the order to leave the house only to work, go to school or see the doctor, in effect during the second childbirth which ended on December 2, defended himself Johnson. Through this effort “the virus was contained but not eradicated”, insisted before the deputies at the opening of a tense early debate.

Votes against

the Former Secretary of State and Member of the House of Commons Jeremy Wright, he said that voted against the government “for the first time in ten years”. He assured that the restrictions should be “as local as possible, according to precise and reliable viral data”.

For his part he also curator Steve Baker warned, “We are going through an extremely dangerous time here, dealing with violations of our immunization and testing freedoms that we would normally never tolerate. Therefore, with great reluctance I will have to vote negative tonight to send a message to the government“.

Prime Minister Johnson attempted to stop the rebellion within his ranks by offering additional financial aid to pubs and restaurants. However, the 1,000 pounds ($ 1,341) of support allocated to these institutions were deemed insufficient.

First force of the opposition, Labor, who until now had always supported coronavirus restrictions, abstained. However, some Labor MPs have decided to join the vote against due to the economic impact of the measures in the north of England, where some 23 million Britons will have to endure the maximum restrictions at least until early February.

Matt Hancock, UK Secretary for Health, was in charge of closing the session. He claimed to know firsthand the “cost of the coronavirus” since his grandfather Derek died from the virus last month. Hancock acknowledged that MPs had to “make a difficult decision”, although “They shouldn’t be thinking about what will bring them popularity in the short term, but what is right”.

UK remains the country most affected in Europe by the coronavirus. Health authorities on Tuesday confirmed 603 deaths from covid-19, a figure significantly higher than the 205 victims on Monday. With this number, the dead already amount to 59,051 people.