December 2, 2021 11.29 am This story is over 27 months old

Karl McCartney the only Lincolnshire MP to vote against isolation and mask rules

He was in a huge minority for both votes
MP for Lincoln, Karl McCartney. | Photo: UK Parliament
By Local Democracy Reporter

Lincoln MP Karl McCartney was one of just 23 members of parliament to vote against new mask wearing rules and one of 36 to say ‘no’ to self-isolation regulations against COVID-19.

Some 434 MPs voted in favour of the new mask wearing rules on November 30, which made it mandatory to wear face coverings in shops and on public transport in England.

The rules were brought in amid fears of the increased infection rates of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, but 23 Conservative MPs voted against their party to try to reject the proposal.

Among those 23 MPs was Lincoln’s Karl McCartney, who has often rebelled against his party’s COVID-19 regulations, having also been the only Lincolnshire MP to go against extending the Coronavirus Act in March this year.

There were plenty of members of parliament who did not record a vote in this, including the Health Secretary Sajid Javid and the Prime Minister himself Boris Johnson.

As well as this, both Javid and Johnson did not vote on the self-isolation regulations, which will see all travellers returning to the UK taking a PCR test and self-isolating until they receive a negative result, as well as all contacts of suspected Omicron cases, regardless of vaccination status.

Mr McCartney was again the only Lincolnshire MP, and one of just 36 members in the House of Commons, to vote no to the new self-isolation rules, but was outdone by 431 to 36 in the vote.

The Lincolnite approached Karl McCartney for a statement on this, but were once again greeted with no response.