The anti-lockdowners made stirring speeches – but didn’t have the votes

MPs have voted overwhelmingly to extend the temporary powers of the Coronavirus Act. John Rentoul listened to the debate

Matt Hancock, the health secretary, faced opposition from his own side, not from Labour (Getty)

The House of Commons has rarely seen such a one-sided debate, ending in a vote that went so overwhelmingly the other way. After the opening speeches from Matt Hancock, the health secretary, and his opposite number, Jonathan Ashworth, arguing in favour of extending the coronavirus restrictions, nearly every MP rose to demand that they be eased more quickly.

Ashworth’s main complaint was that the powers didn’t go far enough. He sounded as if he thought the only danger was of lifting the lockdown too early: “Vaccination alone does not make us bullet-proof,” he said, and he warned fearfully against new variants. He boasted that Labour had helped to draft the legislation in the first place, pressing for sick pay for people who have to self-isolate and for the ban on evictions, and said: “We support the renewal of the act.”

Every other MP who spoke after him said that the temporary provisions go too far. A few said that they would reluctantly vote to renew them in any case. All the rest – Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat – laid into the powers and said they would vote against.