Johnson struggles to add up after claiming Covid measures passed without Labour help

Boris Johnson has sparked confusion after claiming it was untrue to say that new Covid measures only passed thanks to Labour support last night.

The prime minister was given a basic maths lesson by Dr Mike Galsworthy, who highlighted why denying UK people access to some venues without Covid passports would not have been possible without the opposition’s support.

Tweeting today, Galsworthy said: “Probably the most bizarre thing from PMQs was watching Boris Johnson say that it was ‘not true’ that he needed Labour votes to get his Covid measures through last night.

“Again – just bizarre to deny the basic maths of what would’ve happened if Labour had opposed.”

He explained it was “pretty simple” to see why Johnson’s statement was misleading, as the Covid passports measure had 369 votes, out of which 142 were from Labour.

“If those 142 went against… it’d be 227 for… and 268 against,” the Scientists for EU founder concluded.

Tory rebellion

Galsworthy’s calculations come after Boris Johnson suffered a big revolt against the introduction of Covid passports, from 96 Conservative MPs and two Tory tellers, amounting to the biggest rebellion he faced in his time as prime minister.

Other MPs who opposed the passports in nightclubs and large venues were Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, Independent MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Rob Roberts, six DUP, eight Labour and 10 Liberal Democrats.

Broxbourne’s Tory MP Charles Walker said Johnson’s Covid passports were a “bridge too far” from his “huge support”.

“It was a cry of pain from the Conservative Party,” Walker told the BBC.

Among the rebels who opposed Johnson was Tory Louie French, the newest Tory MP.

‘Ministry of Fear’

Meanwhile, a Tory MP who opposed the measures has compared deaths from Covid to deaths from car crashes and the flu, insisting “it comes down to a matter of opinion”.

Desmond Swayne, who has represented New Forest West since 1997, slammed the government and the experts advising Boris Johnson, saying they have fostered a “ministry of fear” throughout the pandemic.

He told the Commons: “In a typical winter’s day, between 200 people and 350 people will die of flu.”

Swayne insisted measures implemented against risks have to be balanced against the “damage” to the economy and the society and said that it all comes down to “a matter of opinion”.

He said: “Notwithstanding the carnage on our roads – certainly killing more people than Covid at the moment – some of us still decide to drive. It’s a matter of opinion.”

In 2020, approximately 1,460 people have died on British roads, compared to almost 150,000 deaths from Covid in the UK since last year.

Daily Covid death tolls in Britain stood at 150 over recent days, and more than 4,000 deaths of people with Covid were recorded last month alone.

Andra Maciuca

Andra is a multilingual, award-winning NQJ senior journalist and the UK’s first Romanian representing co-nationals in Britain and reporting on EU citizens for national news. She is interested in UK, EU and Eastern European affairs, EU citizens in the UK, British citizens in the EU, environmental reporting, ethical consumerism and corporate social responsibility. She has contributed articles to VICE, Ethical Consumer and The New European and likes writing poetry, singing, songwriting and playing instruments. She studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield and has a Masters in International Business and Management from the University of Manchester. Follow her on: