99 Tory MPs revolt against Johnson's new COVID-19 restriction

This rebellion is the biggest Conservative (Tory) showdown since the 2019 general election, when Johnson took office, and it involves 100 Tory MPs opposed to the introduction of COVID-19 certificates for nightclubs and large events in England.

It was all out war in the House of Commons as a vote over the said certificates issued a threat to the prime minister's leadership.

What is striking here is that more than a quarter of Tory MPs opposed what Mr. Johnson has termed as “Plan B” to tackle COVID-19 during the festive season.

Still, largely thanks to the Labour MPs, who are the Opposition, the Conservative rebellion was stymied and the House of Commons approved the restriction embedded in Johnson’s Plan B.

This plan is essentially a response to the Omicron variant, which is spreading very fast in the UK.

After a number of votes, the House of Commons approved the following measures:

• The extension of mandatory face mask-wearing to most public indoor venues in England

• The mandatory use of the National Health Service (NHS) COVID-19 pass for entry into nightclubs and large events

• The relaxation of self-isolation rules for those who are a contact of an Omicron case, with the use of daily testing instead

• Compulsory COVID-19 vaccinations for frontline NHS and social care staff

Although Johnson narrowly escaped blushes in this vote, many Tory leaders think he is not serious about the issue of COVID-19 as evidenced by the Christmas parties held at 10 Downing street last year which were in blatant disregard of COVID-19 regulations.

The Tory rebellion against COVID-19 certificates is also illustrative of the many factions in the Conservative Party.

These factions seemed to have closed ranks as 99 Conservative MPs as opposed to the government.

Senior Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who was among the rebels, amplified this state of affairs.

"Now the prime minister has really got to think very carefully about how he's going to reset his performance to actually govern with a united party, because we all know what happens to disunited parties," said Clifton-Brown.

"He's got to now be in some danger and he's got to realise that, because if he doesn't realise that, then he will be in much bigger danger,” he added.

Although Johnson is still firmly in the saddles, what happens next will determine whether he will ride into the sunset or not.