Rebel Tories Warn Johnson Faces Defeat Over U.K. Virus Powers

Boris Johnson will try to regain control of his coronavirus strategy as a rebellion from his own Conservative colleagues and a series of government gaffes knocked his plans off course.

The U.K. prime minister was warned by Conservative lawmakers that he faces a damaging defeat on his Covid regulations on Wednesday if he fails to give Parliament more powers to scrutinize the rules before they come into force.

The rebellion gathered support after Johnson himself made a public blunder Tuesday and was forced to apologize for wrongly explaining the governments own pandemic restrictions.

The premier will hold a press conference Wednesday with his two top pandemic advisers to spell out the latest data as the disease spreads again across the U.K.

Later in the day Johnson is expected to face a crucial vote in which members of Parliament will decide whether to approve the continuation of the governments emergency virus powers.

Political Calculus

Former Conservative cabinet minister Mark Harper said more than 100 fellow Tories were prepared to vote against the government Wednesday if they failed to offer a compromise to allow Parliament more of a say over Covid-19 restrictions. That would be more than enough to defeat Johnson in a vote.

Talks between government officials and the rebels are due to continue during the day, and Harper said he was “hopeful” that an agreement would be reached. Conservative MP Steve Baker tweeted that rebels will meet with the governments chief whip Mark Spencer on Wednesday morning to try and hammer out a deal.

If the rebels were to defeat Johnson in a vote Wednesday, it would represent a damaging political setback on the most important issue facing his government. That would be a serious blow to the prime minister‘s authority just nine months after he won a large majority in last year’s election.

Harpers warning on Tuesday came after the prime minister, live on television, wrongly explained the new social distancing rules coming into force in northeast England that night. Johnson later tweeted: “Apologies, I misspoke today.”

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Skills minister Gillian Keegan had earlier admitted in a radio interview that she did not know the exact rules for the region. Johnson‘s mistake could hardly have come at a more sensitive moment, as growing numbers of Conservatives question the government’s coronavirus strategy.

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