SIR JOHN REDWOOD has added his name to a list of Conservative MPs calling on the government to give Parliament the final say on any new coronavirus lockdown measures.
Yesterday, it emerged that more than 40 MPs, including the veteran Wokingham politician, had signed an amendment to the Coronavirus Act 2020, which is due to be renewed in parliament this week.
This change would include the clause “Parliament had an opportunity to debate and to vote upon any secondary legislation with effect in the whole of England or the whole United Kingdom before it comes into effect”.
Other names on the list include Sir Graham Brady, who chairs the 1922 committee, former Conservative party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Christopher Chope, Esther McVey, Damian Green and Labour’s Harriet Harman.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Sir Graham asked how the House of Commons had been so ready to “surrender its role in relation to the current emergency powers” and “we should be … vigilant in guarding against excesses of executive power today. If not, we value too cheaply the liberty that so many died to preserve”.
He argues that back in March, when the Coronavirus bill was first enabled, Parliament had been about to go into recess and there were concerns that the NHS would be overwhelmed with Covid-19 patients. This made it reasonable to give ministers authority to act quickly.
But since then, government has continued to act in ways that “mark a new low in the levels of instruction into our private lives”.
Sir Graham said that debating in Parliament would “improve the quality” of Government decisions.
Backing his colleague, Sir John told Wokingham.Today: “I have made clear my wish to see Parliament play a proper role helping shape policy and cross-examining the government on its many decisions and actions, helping lead the call for Parliament to return to working from Westminster.
“The government is spending unprecedented sums of money, taking powers to control many aspects of our lives not seen before in peacetime, and like many countries following WHO advice on the virus is having mixed results with trying to control it.
“I have set out recently the need for more accurate data, questions for the scientific advisers, worries about reliance on test and trace, requests for reform of the proposed Jobs scheme and calls for more news on better treatments.
“These are all set out on my website and available for use.”
The vote on the Coronavirus Act 2020 will take place on Wednesday, September 30.
