Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Interesting that three Labour MPs from Merseyside – most recently Paula Barker - have spoken out against mandatory vaccination of NHS front-line staff.

The Labour front bench changed its position on this, but clearly faces at least a minor rebellion of its own.

The rebels fear health workers would face dismissal – not just redeployment – if they don’t want to be vaccinated, making staff shortages worse.

They have argued that persuasion is better than compulsion.

Tory MP Mark Harper, a prominent opponent of lockdown restrictions, says he is “very disappointed that we’ve very quickly gone into panic and emergency mode” in the face of a new variant, despite being "the best protected country in the world from vaccination".

If fears about Omicron are confirmed, he asks what the government's exit strategy is and what approach will be taken to avoid on-off seasonal restrictions forever.

Harper tells the Commons he is happy to support daily testing replacing self-isolation but opposes mandatory Covid passes.

He says ministers' preference is for vaccine-only passes, without the option of showing a negative test, which Harper claims was only incorporated to secure Labour's support.

Harper calls on his colleagues to send "a clear signal" to the government by voting against Covid passes, warning their use could be extended in the future.

Image source, PA Media

We are a few hours into this debate now, and MPs will be allowed to continue making their points.

But come 18:30 GMT, no matter what, the debate will be ended and MPs will move to votes.

There will be the opportunity for four votes on four issues, namely:

• Expanding mandatory mask requirements to more venues
• Changing isolation rules to allow contacts of suspect Omicron cases to take daily tests
• Introducing Covid passports for certain venues
• Making it mandatory for NHS staff to get a vaccine

Each measure will be put to the Commons and could just be "nodded through" (agreed without a vote) if there is no protest from the benches - this is expected for the isolation change.

But if you hear shouts of "no" from MPs, they will hold official votes and traipse through the lobbies, with the results coming around 15 minutes later.

So you can expect up to an hour of voting come the end of play.

Lib Dems want to be seen on side of civil libertiespublished at 16:30 Greenwich Mean Time 14 December 2021

16:30 GMT 14 December 2021

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

It’s worth remembering that it isn’t just Conservative rebels that will oppose Covid passports in England.

The Lib Dems – while generally supporting the restrictions – oppose this aspect of Plan B.

The former coalition cabinet minister Alastair Carmichael demurred from the government’s insistence that these are not "vaccine passports" because a negative test result can be produced instead of vaccine status.

The party wants to be seen to be on the side of civil liberties, but they also argue that where these measures have been introduced – abroad, and in Scotland and Wales – they haven’t held back the Covid tide.

Labour MP Graham Stringer won’t be supporting the government either, but on the basis that the justification for the measures is "opaque", not "transparent", and MPs need to be provided with information on their impact.

Image source, HoC

Labour has said it will support mandatory vaccination of front-line NHS staff - but some of the party's MPs are against this.

Paula Barker, Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree, tells the Commons she is "really torn on this emotive subject" but that dismissing unvaccinated NHS staff from 1 April "makes no sense".

These employees have been working "around the clock" throughout the pandemic and will continue to do so over Christmas and New Year, she says.

She adds that vaccination should be "by consensus rather than compulsion".

Conservative Huw Merriman says it is "not unreasonable" to expect NHS workers to get vaccinated, if "care is in their DNA".

He questions whether those who do not do so voluntarily "are in the right profession".

His comments come ahead of this evening's vote on compulsory vaccinations for front-line NHS staff in England.

Image source, EPA

In other Chris Whitty news, England's chief medical officer also gave a briefing on Omicron to MPs from across the Commons earlier today.

No 10 confirmed the event took place to "set out the facts of what we know so far".

It follows Prof Whitty making an appearance at cabinet this morning to tell senior ministers about the situation with the new variant.

A No 10 spokesman said the CMO corrected some of the points people had picked up during the briefing, including claims cases had peaked in South Africa or that it was less severe.

They said his point was there was yet to be hard evidence of either and that people should act on the facts they have in front of them.

Tory MP Simon Hoare tells BBC Radio 5 Live he attended the briefing and he thinks one or two rebels have changed their minds because of it.

Liberal Democrat Daisy Cooper says the UK is facing a "very tough flu season" on top of Covid and the government "should never have scrapped" the compulsory wearing of masks on public transport in England in July.

There's been a "drip-drip of information", and the public is "haunted" by last year's Christmas, she adds.

The government must "come clean" over what restrictions will be in place this festive season, Cooper, the Lib Dem education spokesperson, says.

Image source, Reuters

Away from the Commons, the government has announced it is suspending the need for people to wait 15 minutes after getting jabbed.

As it stands, people have to stay on in case of a bad reaction to the jab.

A short time ago, the chief medical officers from across the UK recommended the move, saying the rates of anaphylaxis (a severe allergic reaction) are low - around one per 100,000 vaccine doses.

And they said keeping the wait in place during the ramp up of appointments "will cause more harm than it can avert because it will significantly reduce the number of people who can be vaccinated over a short period of time".

The government has now accepted the recommendation, saying it will "implement the temporary measure to help accelerate the rollout of vaccinations as quickly as possible".

However, those who have a history of allergies, particularly to other vaccines, or have had an immediate reaction after previous doses may be advised to stay for the 15 minutes.

Image source, HoC

Conservative Steve Brine criticises the government for suggesting earlier this year that "we were on an irreversible roadmap to freedom".

He says he has "no issue" with asking people to wear masks, but it's a "bit of crutch" to make people feel safer.

Brine adds that the PM's broadcast on measures on Sunday evening was unnecessarily "frightening" and should have focused more on jabs than the general situation facing the UK.

Image source, HoC

Labour's Justin Madders says a lack of government information on its rule changes has hardened opposition to them among MPs and the public.

It's not a "slide into dystopia" but people are more worried than they needed to be, he adds.

But there must be a "clearer explanation" of which venues will require Covid passes for people to enter, Madders argues.

Image source, HoC

Conservative Liam Fox, a former GP, says the idea that Omicron variant infections will double every two to three days is not proven.

The 10-day hotel quarantine for UK citizens coming back from red-list countries - which ends tomorrow - has been "pointless", Fox adds. Those currently still in isolation should be allowed out immediately, he argues.

And the Covid pass proposals, being voted on later, do not "pass the necessity test", Fox says.

Image source, HoC

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas says that, unlike South Africa, the UK is starting its Omicron variant growth on top of a high level of Delta variant infections.

Allowing Christmas parties while asking people to work from home is wrong, she argues.

Lucas says the pressure on hospitals this winter will be "massive" and that transmission rates must be lowered, and she demands better sick pay for those in isolation.

Image source, HoC

Tory Sir Desmond Swayne, a prominent rebel on the measures voted on later tonight, says there have been "extraordinary extrapolations" of the initial figures on the Omicron variant.

It is often a matter of "opinion" and "prejudice", he adds, saying the "carnage on our roads" is killing more people than Covid at the moment.

If ministers "twist the fear button", people will react to what they consider to be a "great danger", Sir Desmond says, calling the government "absolutely complicit" with scientists in "abandoning democracy".

Image source, HoC

Labour's Graham Stringer says the government should not be using "tough" rules when other means of checking the spread of Omicron is available.

He asks ministers to tell MPs "the cost and benefits" of measures used, such as how many cancer patients will die because of a lack of access to treatment.

After Sir Peter Bottomley's short speech, Labour's Graham Stringer says there needs to be an in-depth judgement of the government's pandemic performance.

The chairman of the Commons Health Select Committee argues that ministers have got into a "groupthink" with scientific advisers and failed to challenge them.

"We seem to be repeating that process again" with the latest measures, Stringer says.

Image source, HoC

Sir Peter Bottomley, the Father of the House (the longest-serving male MP) begins his speech.

The Tory MP for Worthing says it's important to win the "hearts and minds" of the public to back the government's measures, which he's supporting in the votes later.

Wes Streeting begins to wind up his speech by saying the government should improve ventilation in schools to help slow the spread of the Omicron variant, adding: "We need action now."

The Christmas holidays are a good opportunity to get more children jabbed, he argues, and tells the government to bring in higher statutory sick pay for people who are forced to isolate.

The UK can trust Labour to "do the right thing" on Covid, he concludes.

Image source, HoC

Some of the exchanges in today's debate will "reassure" the public that MPs take the big issues seriously, Wes Streeting says.

There is overall support in the country for the measures, he adds, and they need to pass.

The rapid reproduction rate of the Omicron variant should "concentrate minds" in this evening's votes, Streeting argues.

The overwhelming majority of NHS staff are vaccinated, but some have concerns and haven't joined them, Wes Streeting says. It's very difficult for Labour to vote in favour of mandatory jabs for front-line staff, he adds.

It's also important to respect "people who have devoted themselves to others", the shadow health secretary tells MPs, and urges the government to accompany new rules with "persuasion".