Peas in a pod - Osborne, Blair, and Britain’s political elite

George Osborne, former chancellor of the exchequer, has urged the government to phase out smoking by adopting the New Zealand policy of banning the sale of tobacco to anyone born after 2008.

‘Giving evidence’ (sic) to The Times’ self-styled and self important Health Commission, David Cameron’s former right hand man also called for the sugar tax on soft drinks, which he introduced, to be extended to cover fruit juice, milkshakes, biscuits and cakes.

On the issue of smoking, Osborne said:

“You basically phase it out. Of course you’re going to have lots of problems with illegal smoking, but you have lots of problems with other illegal activities. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try and ban them and police them and make it less readily available. I thought that was a compelling public health intervention.”

Significantly he added:

“In my political lifetime, far and away the most audacious and productive period of health reform happened under the Tony Blair government.”

Draw your own conclusions but it’s clear that, like many members of Britain’s political elite (past and present, and across the political spectrum), Osborne wants to control how millions of people live their lives.

The bizarre thing is that banning younger generations of adults from smoking would not only infantilise millions of people, it would also fuel a huge black market in tobacco.

The loss of revenue to government would be enormous (at least £10 billion pounds every year), not to mention the cost of trying (and largely failing) to enforce it.

As a former chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne ought to know that, which is presumably why he didn't propose anything like it when in office.

To compound matters it’s only two years since he was caught in flagrante with a fag himself. According to the Daily Mail:

Drawing heavily on a cigarette, a familiar figure in casual attire ambles along a cobbled London street. Witnesses to George Osborne's lone stroll – for it is the former Chancellor lurking beneath that baseball cap – report that he seemed pensive, as if carrying some weighty burden.

Osborne's comments yesterday are a classic example of 'Do as I say, not as I do'. It was alright for him to smoke, but now he wants to deny future generations the same opportunity.

Fortunately he's no longer in government, or politics, so his views should be treated with the contempt they deserve.

David Cameron was a smoker too, of course, and not only did his government enforce Labour’s tobacco display ban within a year of becoming prime minister (having opposed it in opposition), he also introduced plain packaging.

Perhaps we should be thankful they didn’t do more than they did, but Osborne’s praise for Blair’s government shows how little there is, policy wise, between the leading members of Britain’s political elite.

It’s clear too that despite having not stood for election for years, former politicians like Blair and Osborne still consider themselves part of that influential circle, which is hardly surprising given the way some people seem to hang on to their every word, even now.

On this occasion, though, I think most people will recognise Osborne’s stage-managed intervention for what it was - a small and largely irrelevant act of political theatre, quickly forgotten.

PS. I’m quoted by the Mirror here - UK should ban smoking and slap taxes on fruit juice says George Osborne.