It's fair to say that Labour have been incredibly inconsistent when it comes to domestic vaccine passports. They voted against them in Scotland, but have implemented them in Wales. How will they vote in England? That's anyone's guess, but when they were proposed earlier this year it appeared they weren't keen at all. Starmer told the Daily Telegraph that the idea was against 'British sense and instinct' and outsourcing such decisions to pub landlords was 'wrong in principal'. Fast forward two months and Starmer had changed his tune, telling Nick Ferrari on LBC that he would back them for sports event as long as a negative test could be used in addition to the pass. However, he was categorical that he didn't want them used in 'everyday settings' such as shops.
A month later he watered down his opposition even further by telling BlackCountryLive: "There will be a role for vaccine passports in the future". He went on to repeat his mantra that a negative test should be sufficient and vital services should not be affected.
A few days later frontbencher Emily Thornberry wrote that Labour were 'not convinced' by domestic vaccine passports and the party supported a more 'test-driven approach'.
By far the most scathing response towards vax passes came from her fellow frontbencher David Lammy. He used his LBC radio show to question the 'ethical and legal complications' surrounding the imposition of such a scheme and said that the very notion 'did not feel British'. He even went as far as to call it what it undoubtedly is - a form of apartheid. You can watch the clip below.
Given this apparent lack of appetite for domestic vax passes, imagine our lack of surprise to find that when it came to the Labour conference last month - vaccine passports were a requirement of entry. This was just a few weeks after Thornberry said the party was 'not convinced'. Furthermore, despite having been double jabbed or tested negative, delegates were also required to mask up!
When the vote inevitably comes to the Commons in the next month or two, there is little hope that under Starmer's feeble leadership Labour will do anything more than abstain. The best we can hope for is that a majority of Conservative MPs suddenly and inexplicably realise they are conservatives and not nanny state socialists.
