Photo: PA
A bouncer at a Bristol nightclub said he and his colleagues “are dropping faster than the benefits of Brexit” as the effects of Freedom Day on the nightlife sector begin to bite.
The doorman, who is currently self-isolating, said several of his colleagues have contracted Covid-19 following their reopening on 19 July, ahead of “Freedom Day”, sarcastically telling LBC presenter James O’Brien that he is having “so much freedom” at the moment.
He told LBC presenter James O’Brien that he started isolating on Saturday because his colleagues “are getting genuinely sick”. Meanwhile, he suggested the club is struggling for doormen, which means it’s “unsafe for everyone, not least of all the customers”.
He suggested his colleagues “pretty much” all agree that the government’s handling of the pandemic is “ridiculous”.
“In our group chat, I sort of emphasised the pingdemic is a made-up thing and it’s to do with people getting ill not the app etcetera but everyone has kind of agreed with me on it,” the bouncer said.
O’Brien asked him: “How mad is it that I can go out tonight without a vaccine passport but come September I won’t be able to?”
Tory MPs last week threatened to boycott the party conference if Covid vaccine passports are required for entry.
Former minister Steve Baker was among those to say they would not attend the event in October amid outrage that jabs could become mandatory to access crowded venues.
Conservative rebels are planning to ally with Labour to defeat the plan to make full vaccination a requirement of entry for clubs and venues with large crowds from the end of September.
Labour said it would not support vaccine passports, criticising the scheme as “costly, open to fraud” and “impractical”, as well as potentially ineffective.
With at least 42 Tory MPs having signalled they would not vote in favour of vaccine passports, the government faces the real prospect of a Commons defeat.
Hospitality and retail bosses have warned that vaccine passports or certification for customers entering venues could face “legal concerns” and create enforcement problems for businesses.
An education minister has repeatedly refused to rule out that students could be required to be double-vaccinated in order to attend university lectures in person and live in halls of residence.
The Times reported that Boris Johnson had suggested the move in order to help drive up the rates of young people taking up the vaccine.
Conservative MP and minister Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) was repeatedly asked about the potential policy on Monday morning.
Although she initially answered “no” when asked about the plans on Sky News, before stressing the need to prioritise education, she did not take the opportunity to rule the policy out later on.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “So obviously, I can’t comment on things that haven’t been announced. But one does need to look at every practicality to make sure that we can get students back safely and make sure that we can continue to prioritise education.”
Related: Tory MPs to boycott their own party conference over vaccine passports
