“Papers for the pub”: an illiberal proposal?
“God, I miss the pub,” said Stephanie Hare in The Guardian. I miss pushing through the doors into the chatter and laughter. “I miss the sight of people’s faces, friendly and relaxed and a bit flushed.” So I can see why the idea of “vaccine passports” has its fans. The idea of restaurants and pubs being able to open to customers who can show that they’ve been fully vaccinated is a seductive one. But it’s one that would have serious implications for civil liberties. As the Tory MP Steve Baker put it, “papers for the pub” would create a “two-tier Britain”. Yet Boris Johnson, who had previously rejected the proposal, has seemed to warm to it, saying that the decision “may be up to individual publicans”.
“Why the change of heart,” asked Paul Nuki in The Daily Telegraph. It’s a question of “realpolitik”. The Government has promised the “irreversible” reopening of society as early as 21 June, which can only work if there is a very high uptake of vaccines across society. As we’ve seen in Israel – which has fully vaccinated more than half of its population – the uptake slows when it reaches young people, who have less to fear from the disease. Israel has already brought in a “green pass” system allowing the vaccinated entry to higher risk venues, such as theatres and gyms. It helps control transmission, but it’s also a strong incentive for young people “to do right by the herd” and get the vaccine.
It’s disturbing that this “illiberal form of Conservatism” has grown during the pandemic, said Fraser Nelson in the same paper. When Labour proposed identity cards in 2004, Johnson said he’d eat his in front of anyone who asked him to produce it. Now he has Michael Gove working on plans for vaccine passports – essentially, digital ID cards with health information about users. Personally, “I love the idea of pub passports”, said Carol Midgley in The Times. They will bar conspiracy-theorising anti-vaxxers, and speed up service, too. But they’ll never work. Fakes will be circulating within hours. The young who are the pubs’ lifeline won’t even be offered jabs until summer. So why can’t pubs have special Covid areas for “the unjabbed” instead? They can go outside, under an awning – like “smokers have been doing for years”.