A motion to provide weekly coronavirus testing for NHS and social care workers has been defeated after 331 Conservative MPs voted against the proposal.
The motion — backed by Bethnal Green and Bow MP Rushanara Ali in a debate on Wednesday, June 24 — sought to bring in routine weekly testing “to enable NHS services to safely resume”.
While 185 Labour MPs voted in favour, they, alongside representatives from the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Social Democratic and Labour Party could not overcome the vote against.
In a speech just before the vote, Ms Ali said: “I hope that ministers will look at where the mistakes have been made and make sure we learn fast, and ensure the testing is provided so that we can ensure that NHS and care workers don’t have to put themselves, their colleagues, their patients and their families at risk.”
This was not enough to sway the vote, with the motion defeated.
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