By Anthony Webber:
Just under five weeks ago a Petition was launched for the public to have their say in ending the Coronavirus Act. In a short period of time it has already achieved 73,500 signatures and it is expected to reach the magic 100,000 to qualify for a Parliamentary debate.
The Act has become associated in the public’s mind with everything they did not like with lockdowns and what is seen as the drift towards restricting freedoms, especially vaccine mandates and passports.
Whilst there have been changes to the Coronavirus Act, it is still seen as the symbol of everything which people feel the government has gone too far on in the exercise of emergency powers.
Although this campaign attracts those across the party lines, a growing number of Conservative party supporters have signed the Petition.
They see two reasons for backing the Petition:
Firstly, all the restrictions imposed on the British public over the last 19 months are seen by the public as coming from a Conservative government, when that is not strictly true.
The reality is that these things would not have happened without the enthusiastic support of the Labour and some other parties.
They believe that if a General Election is called, that the Labour and other parties will claim they were misled by the Prime Minister, and that the public should blame the Conservative party for what they went through. This is added to the fact that in some of “red wall” seats, Labour will claim that the middle to low income workers were unfairly penalized in the Budget, compared with those with higher earnings.
They feel that it is essential to avoid this scenario by making it clear to the public that the Coronavirus Act and the other associated actions to resolve the covid-19 pandemic were cross party issues.
They see that an effective way of making this clear is to hold a Referendum on the Coronavirus Act. Like the one on the EU, which was largely a cross party political issue, which individuals should exercise their votes on according to their own consciences.
Secondly, they are concerned that since the use of emergency powers, the public has been associating the Conservative party with authoritarianism, something which is foreign to their own libertarian beliefs.
They believe that like holding a Referendum on exiting the EU, which enhanced the party’s democratic credentials, so a Referendum on exiting the Coronavirus Act, will restore the party’s reputation as a party of democracy.
Even more clever, they maintain, would be to go down the path of holding a Referendum and then abolish the Coronavirus Act totally before finally proceeding with it.
So far, it its initial response to the Petition, the government has said “it has no plans to hold a referendum on the Act.” Many believe this reaction has been a huge blunder because it gives the impression that the government was happy to get into power on the back of one referendum ( the EU) and then hypocritically turn down another referendum because it does not suit them.
Many were also were concerned that when the Act came up for renewal (rather than let it lapse), the government extended it for a further six months. The circumstances of there being no division (no recorded vote) and the suspicion of a deal with the Labour party, was the final straw which broke the camel’s back. Now many feel that only putting pressure on the government by signing the Petition, will the there be any chance of putting an end to the “never ending story” of the Coronavirus Act.
They also believe that the Act has encouraged the misuse of other Acts, such as the Public Health ( Control of Diseases) Act 1984 and the Civil Contingences Act 2004, and that they will inevitably be urgently reviewed and changed once the Coronavirus Act goes. The Petitioners are now seeking to reach the magical 100,000 level to qualify for consideration for a Parliamentary debate. The link is:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/597665
The Petition has recently been promoted by a number of personalities, including Lawrence Fox, Martin Daubney and Jennifer Acuri
Anthony Webber
Independent Political Commentator
07824 444604
NB- FOOTNOTE:
There was a previous Petition on the Coronavirus Act, which called for its Repeal, received 102,809 signatures, and was debated by Parliament on 22nd March 2021. It was a disappointing debate which essentially fobbed off the issue:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/313310
It is far more difficult for the government to fob off calls for a Referendum, when they know none of what they have done , Coronavirus Act and more, has ever had the electoral consent of the British public.
There was also a Parliamentary Petition to end all Covid-19 restrictions, which closed on 3rd June 2021, with 53,230 signatures, but was similarly fobbed of by the government:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/561995
There is currently a worthy Parliamentary Petition to Repeal the Coronavirus Act which is still live:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/592632
It has received 31,051 signatures so far. This is likely to receive the same sort of response as the previous ones, but still merits signing.
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