Bob Blackman, friend or foe?

Between now and the General Election on May 7 I'm highlighting a number of 'target seats', those where the candidate standing for re-election has consistently supported anti-tobacco policies, and those where a leading candidate has been a consistent opponent of excessive lifestyle regulations and policies that infantilise us all. With a handful of exceptions, I'm focussing on marginal or semi-marginal seats.

#10 - Harrow East
Secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health (run by ASH), Bob Blackman was one of the more prominent anti-smoking MPs in the last parliament. A supporter of plain packaging, he championed the ban on smoking in cars with children and believes the major priority of local authorties in terms of public health is "to reduce the number of people smoking and reduce the consumption of tobacco-related products". At the last election Blackman's principal opponent, Labour's Tony McNulty, was under an expenses cloud. If the Labour vote recovers, and Ukip take votes from the Tories, Blackman could be toast.

2010 majority: 3,403 (7.1%)
Estimated number of smokers in Harrow East: 12,512*
Principal opponent: Labour
Friend or foe: Foe
Target rating: High

*Based on 20% of the registered electorate in 2010

Note: Marginal seats have been defined as those with majorities of 10% or less that require a swing of 5% for the incumbent party to lose.