British govt moves to defuse tensions with lawmakers over pandemic restrictions

Amid criticism over mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the British government on Monday moved to defuse a row with some Conservative lawmakers, assuring increased participation of the Parliament while imposing national measures to contain the virus. As per reports, some Conservative lawmakers have expressed displeasure with the steps taken by the Boris Johnson government in controlling the pandemic crisis, complaining that certain precautionary measures affect society’s freedoms.

This development has come after the government imposed a ban on gatherings of more than six people in one place along with a range of fines for violating the precautionary norms. These measures were imposed to tackle the surging number of Coronavirus infections in the country. However, expressing discontent, Conservative MPs said that the ministers were “ruling by decree” and that they must get Parliament's approval before imposing any new Coronavirus restrictions.

Speaking to BBC, leading Conservative MP Sir Graham Brady said, "The government has got into the habit, in respect of the coronavirus issue, of ruling by decree without the usual, debate, discussion and votes in Parliament that we would expect on any other matter."

Responding to the issue, British health minister Matt Hancock told the Parliament that he was looking into various ways to ensure that the House of Commons can be properly involved in the process of introducing new measures to contain the pandemic. He also said that he would meet Graham Brady to discuss the matter.

MPs are going to vote on Wednesday on the renewal of the Coronavirus Act which provides the power to the government to impose pandemic-related restrictions. This emergency piece of legislation was fast-tracked through the Parliament in late March to give emergency powers to the government for responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Facing massive criticism for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also seeking to prevent any rebellion during the vote on Wednesday.

On Monday, Prime Minister's spokesperson also stated that the Boris Johnson government will work in cooperation with the Parliament at every possible step to keep the lawmakers updated on the latest developments in the response to restrict the spread of the virus.

“We will continue to keep Parliament updated on the latest data and scientific advice on the virus and work in advance with parliamentary colleagues, wherever that is possible,” the spokesman said.

Taking note of the rising infection numbers across different parts of the country, the British government has stated that it wants to avoid a second nationwide lockdown and instead will impose targeted local precautionary measures to contain the spread of the virus.