Tory MPs vow to boycott Conservative conference over vaccine passports
Growing number of backbenchers set to shun annual meeting if jab documents are condition of entry
![Conservative MP Steve Baker](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ks38S6LxXYLph4DeBigMMc-415-80.jpg)
Lockdown-sceptic Tory MPs are threatening to boycott this autumn’s party conference if presenting Covid-19 vaccine passports is a condition of entry.
The growing list of rebels on the party’s “libertarian wing” were already “spooked” by Boris Johnson’s announcement that proof of having had two doses of a coronavirus vaccine will be required to get into nightclubs and other venues from the end of September, The Telegraph reports.
And mounting speculation that party chiefs may also demand that the passports must be shown to enter the Conservative conference, taking place in Manchester between 3 and 6 October, has left some backbench MPs “incensed”, the paper adds.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Tory MPs who have already vowed to boycott the conference including Mark Jenkinson, Chris Green and Peter Bone. Helena Morrissey, who sits in the Lords, UK Independence Party (Ukip) defector Craig Mackinlay and Andrew Bridgen have also said they will not attend, according to Guido Fawkes, along with Steve Baker, deputy chair of the Covid Recovery Group of lockdown-sceptic MPs.
And Charles Walker, a former member of the party’s board, “has previously said he wouldn’t get the vaccine due to a phobia of needles” and confirmed yesterday that he remains unjabbed, the right-wing news site reports.
Meanwhile, Bolton West MP Green said that the conference is “down the road from my constituency and a great chance to champion levelling up”, but added: “I will not be attending in person or online.”
Jenkinson tweeted that while he was double-jabbed and had booked a conference ticket, he would refuse to go too “if we’re excluding people on the basis of their vaccination status”.
And Baker tweeted that “with a heavy heart and apologies to event organisers”, he would do likewise.
The group of rebels is expected to grow, amid an “outcry” from Johnson’s backbenches over his vaccine passport plan, The Guardian reports.
An unnamed MP told the paper they would “not be going to any venue that requires this kind of thing, including my own party’s conference”.
The threatened boycott could prove highly embarrassing for Johnson. The Independent reports that rebel MP Green has “suggested that anti-certification Tories could set up an alternative ‘Freedom Zone’ conference outside the main event”.
The prime minister is in a “real bind”, says Guido Fawkes, which argues that Johnson has two equally unappealing options: press ahead with the plan and “lose support amongst party ideologues” or drop it and “get mauled by the press”.
However, the decision could be taken out of the PM’s hands if he loses the vote to make vaccine passports mandatory. Backbenchers told The Guardian they were “confident enough” the party will “unite to kill off” the proposal.
The Telegraph says the expected rebellion “could be enough to overturn Johnson’s Commons working majority if all other opposition MPs voted against the measures”. And according to the paper, Labour “is also considering voting against”.
Alternatively, introducing the jab passports might not be necessary if more young people get vaccinated. The Telegraph reports that “internal government data figures show that twice as many over-18s came forward” after Johnson announced the plan.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - July 26, 2024
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - campaign donations, yellow buses, and more
By The Week US Published
-
California orders mass dismantling of unhoused people's camps
Speed Read Gavin Newsom's move follows a Supreme Court ruling last month in favor of an Oregon city that ticketed people for sleeping outside
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
7 dreamy products to help you sleep better on vacation
The Week Recommends Don't snooze on these sleep aids
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The Tamils stranded on 'secretive' British island in Indian Ocean
Under the Radar Migrants 'unlawfully detained' since 2021 shipwreck on UK-controlled Diego Garcia, site of important US military base
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
David Cameron resigns as Sunak names shadow cabinet
Speed Read New foreign secretary joins 12 shadow ministers brought in to fill vacancies after electoral decimation
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Britain's Labour Party wins in a landslide
Speed Read The Conservatives were unseated after 14 years of rule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The five moments it went wrong for the Tories
In Depth From Partygate to the budget that broke Britain, the pivotal points in the Conservative Party's decline
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
General election: Britain heads to the polls
In depth Voters have remained 'curiously unengaged' throughout a campaign which seems to many like a foregone conclusion
By The Week UK Published
-
Bellwether seats and 'big beasts' at risk: how election night will unfold
In the Spotlight Excitement will 'really ramp up' as key constituencies declared through the night
By The Week UK Published
-
First-past-the-post: time for electoral reform?
Talking Point If smaller parties win votes but not seats, the 2024 election could be a turning point for proportional representation
By The Week UK Published