More on the news that the incoming coalition government in New Zealand is to repeal the law banning the sale of tobacco to future generations of adults.
When I wrote about it yesterday I mentioned that the mainstream media in the UK seemed to be ignoring the story, despite the obvious implications for what appears to be one of Rishi Sunak’s flagship policies.
Put simply, having adopted the idea from New Zealand, the PM now finds himself in charge of a policy that has been abandoned by its parent.
Consequently, apart from Sunak’s Government, the only other governments that are currently backing a generational ban on tobacco are the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales, led by the SNP and Labour respectively.
However you spin it, those are interesting bedfellows for a Conservative prime minister who, lest we forget, will almost certainly need the votes of Labour MPs to get the legislation through parliament.
With that in mind, you would think the story would have generated a lot more coverage. Instead, only the MailOnline, Express, and Telegraph belatedly published reports online, and they took several hours to appear.
The Times, Guardian and Sun, who all support the generational ban, ignored the story completely. As did the FT, Mirror and, predictably, the BBC.
Thankfully the Press Association stepped up and issued a report that had a quote by me and embedded in the report was a tweet (by Forest) that featured the illustration of Sunak that we commissioned a few weeks ago precisely for moments like this!
The PA report was published by, among others, the Independent, London Evening Standard, and Lancashire Telegraph.
The PA also had the wit to approach Downing Street for a response and, although Sunak’s spokesman insists the Government’s plans for a generational ban are “unchanged”, I’m convinced this is not yet over.
Not least, our ‘Conservative’ prime minister has some explaining to do to his backbenchers to justify a policy dreamt up by a Labour government in New Zealand that has now been rejected by a centre-right coalition in that same country.
See also: New Zealand government u-turn on tobacco sales ban (Convenience Store), New Zealand’s smoking ban u-turn is bad news for Rishi Sunak (The Spectator).
Below: The Forest tweet that featured in the PA report
