Boris Johnson 'could split Tory party over mandatory vax passports'

Tory MP warns Boris Johnson could cause biggest party split in 200 years by insisting on Covid vaccine passports for students, sports fans and festivalgoers

• Steve Baker said mandatory vaccine passports was an ‘outrageous proposal’
• Mr Johnson is also said to be considering them for festivals and football matches 
• Backbenchers accused PM of turning Britain into a ‘Beijing-style democracy’ 

Boris Johnson could bring about the first Conservative Party split in nearly 200 years if he brings about mandatory ‘vaccine passports’, a senior Tory has warned.

Backbenchers have accused the Prime Minister’s administration of trying to turn Britain into a ‘Beijing-style democracy’ amid a furious row over compulsory vaccine passports for universities.

It was said that the PM was ‘raging’ about the relatively low uptake of Covid jabs in young people, and had suggested the move to drive up the rates. 

It would mean students would only be allowed back on campus this September if they could prove they had been double-jabbed.

Deputy chairman of the Covid Recovery Group of Tories, Steve Baker, told The Sun it was an ‘outrageous proposal’ that likely would not ‘do any good’.

He added: ‘Who are they now trying to coerce? Whose education are they now trying to deny?

‘I believe the government is in terrible danger of splitting the Tory Party irretrievably – after all we have been through with Brexit.’

Mr Johnson had previously ruled out vaccine passports, but then vowed to bring them in for nightclubs at the end of September, and is also said to be considering them for universities, festivals and football matches. 

Boris Johnson could bring about the first Conservative Party split in nearly 200 years if he brings about mandatory ‘vaccine passports’, a senior Tory has warned

Latest NHS England figures show just 58.6 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds have had one Covid injection, compared to rates of above 90 per cent in most older age groups

It was said that the PM was ‘raging’ about the relatively low uptake of Covid jabs in young people, and had suggested the move to drive up the rates (pictured: Latitude Festival, July 25) 

Fellow Conservative MP Mark Harper said Downing Street was making vaccines compulsory through the back door with threats to deny university education to those who refuse.

Youngsters ditch face masks in droves, poll finds 

A new poll by YouGov suggests the use of face masks among young people has slumped since ‘freedom day’ on July 19.

The survey found 46 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds said they wore a face mask in a public place in the last two weeks, compared to 58 per cent on July 16 and 64 per cent on June 2.

Meanwhile, the survey of 1,742 British adults between July 21 and 22 found other age groups were still wearing face coverings at around the same rate.

Data shows 69 per cent of all Britons say they wore a face mask in the last two weeks, compared to 71 per cent on July 16 and 73 per cent on June 2.

YouGov also said young people were less likely to be fully vaccinated and more likely to have disabled their NHS Covid-19 app.

The researcher said that while last week 38 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds had been avoiding crowded places, this has now fallen to 26 per cent.

Older generations showed little to no change in their behaviour towards crowded spaces.

Meanwhile, the proportion of Britons thinking the Government is handling Covid-19 well fell from 41 per cent just before ‘freedom day’ to 34 per cent afterwards.

Attitudes among Conservative voters tumbled 17pts this week. Prior to July 19, about three-quarters (73 per cent) of Conservative voters thought the Government was doing a good job of managing the pandemic response.

He said: ‘Persuasion is much better than coercion.’

Tory MP Tom Tugendhat railed against the scheme yesterday, saying it would lead to yet another form of ID card.

The chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee told TalkRadio: ‘We need to be extremely careful that we don’t go from a Brussels-type democracy to a Beijing-type democracy.’

Other Conservative MPs branded the scheme as ‘wrongheaded’ and said it risked turning Britain into a two-tier society.

And the University and College Union — which represents universities — said it was ‘hugely discriminatory’ against foreign students and those who won’t be able to get jabbed. 

Academics branded plans for campus vaccine passports as ‘appalling’ and ‘discriminatory’ yesterday as a furious row erupted over the proposals.

The plans, under consideration by Boris Johnson, would ban students from lectures and halls of residences if they have not been fully vaccinated.

It is one of a number of ideas mooted to encourage more youngsters to take up the vaccine amid fears in government that many have failed to do so.

The Prime Minister is said to have been ‘raging’ about the relatively low vaccine uptake among under-30s. Subject to certain medical exemptions, all students in higher and further education settings would effectively face compulsory jabs if they want to return to campus life.

It is understood the Prime Minister made the suggestion during video meetings while in isolation at Chequers last week. However, work needs to be done on checking its viability before a decision is made.

Yesterday the National Union of Students (NUS) said youngsters stand to lose thousands in tuition fees and accommodation they have already signed up for, while president Larissa Kennedy said the plans were ‘appalling’. 

Meanwhile, Jo Grady, of the University and College Union which represents lecturers, said the vaccine passports would be ‘discriminatory against those who are unable to be vaccinated and international students’.

It is understood the Department for Education has reservations about the idea as universities are independent and offers to study are legally binding. The move comes amid concern that fewer than 60 per cent of 18 to 25-year-olds have had a first jab.

The Russell Group of 24 top institutions said ministers need to ‘work with students and universities to encourage take up’. 

Covid cases are now concentrated mostly in younger age groups who are less likely to get the vaccine because they do not see the virus as a threat.

Official figures show adults in their early twenties in England were 12 times more likely to be infected with Covid than the over-60s last week.

Data from the Government’s dashboard showed 18 to 24 year olds made up 14 per cent of cases on July 17. This was the lions’ share and 12 times more than in the over-60s 

And they were 20 times more likely to have suffered an infection than the over-80s. 

It comes after the minister for children and families Vicky Ford repeatedly refused to rule out the plans during a round of interviews today. 

The Prime Minister has already said clubbers will need to be double-vaccinated from September to attend the late night venues. 

The chairman of the Covid Recovery Group of Tory MPs Mark Harper said today the plans for vaccine passports in universities amounted to ‘compulsory vaccination’.

He urged ministers to return to ‘persuasion not panic’ to roll-out the jabs, saying it was the ‘right public health approach’.

And the chairman of the Commons education select committee Robert Halfon called the plans ‘wrongheaded’.

Mr Halfon told The Times: ‘It’s something out of Huxley’s Brave New World where people with vaccine passports will be engineered into social hierarchies — those who will be given higher education or those who will not.’

The UCU called the plans ‘highly discriminatory’. Its general secretary Jo Grady said the scheme aimed to blame students for poor vaccine uptake in young people.

‘Sadly, this looks and smells like a Prime Minister trying to pin the blame on students for not yet taking up a vaccine they have not been prioritised to receive’.

She called on Mr Johnson to instead work with universities to boost uptake among young people.

Source: Read Full Article