Vaccine passports will come into force in Wales on Monday following a highly controversial vote in the Senedd. The vote passed by just one after one Tory member was reportedly locked out of Zoom due to a 'technical glitch'. On the morning of the vote Gareth Davies had indicated he would vote against the proposal in a series of tweets. However, when the crunch decision came his vote was not registered.
If Davies' vote had counted then the proposal would have been rejected as there would have been a tie. In the end the Labour government won the vote 28-27, meaning that people in Wales will now have to use a 'Covid pass' in order to access certain settings, including nightclubs and sports events.
Davies was at the Tory conference in Manchester at the time of the vote, but says he was in contact with his chief whip 'throughout the voting period'. Senedd speaker Elin Jones says she provided the Tory whip with her phone number so that Davies could give his vote orally over the phone, but he did not call.
The absence of Davies has left Tory rank and file fuming, with some suggesting that it was an establishment stitch-up. It's true that the Welsh Conservative group have made little fuss of their supposed defeat and none of the parties - including the Tories - have asked for the vote to be re-run. Something stinks and once again Mark Drakeford has been let off the hook.
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| Tory MS Gareth Davies single-handedly gifted Labour victory over vaccine passports |
