(Bloomberg) -- Rebel members of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party are seeking parliamentary power to block new Covid rules.

Parliament is due to review the government’s coronavirus legislation by the end of the month, six months after it was enacted. It gave ministers sweeping powers to bring in emergency measures to combat the pandemic, and members of Parliament are now seeking to limit the use of that authority.

Among them are 40 Tory MPs, who put their name to an amendment which -- if passed -- would mean ministers could only implement major new measures to combat the pandemic once Parliament has been given the chance to “debate and vote upon” them. The amendment was posted on Twitter by one of its sponsors, Steve Baker.

Other sponsors include influential Tory Graham Brady and Damian Green, who served as former Prime Minister Theresa May’s de facto deputy, as well as the opposition Labour Party’s former deputy leader Harriet Harman.

In theory, 40 Tories would be enough to overturn Johnson’s majority in the House of Commons --- though it’s more likely some form of compromise will head off the rebellion before a vote. The wording of the amendment already leans that way: “As far as is reasonably practicable,” it says.

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