Sleepwalking to prohibition
Wednesday, November 27, 2024 at 11:51 The second reading of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill took place in the House of Commons yesterday.
415 MPs voted for the Bill, 47 against.
The uninspiring, rather flat, three-and-a-half hour ‘debate’ consisted of a series of MPs giving short speeches in favour of the Bill, with occasional interventions by other MPs, a few of whom raised issues such as civil liberties and the difficulties that could be faced by shop workers if a generational ban is introduced.
The former included the extraordinarily self-satisfied Bob Blackman, Conservative MP for Harrow East and co-chair of the APPG on Smoking and Health which he referred to as the “All Party Parliamentary Group on Action and Smoking and Health”. (Hansard appears to have corrected him.)
The few opponents of the Bill who were prepared to stand up and be counted included fellow Tory Andrew Rosindell. Fair play to Rosindell and the handful of MPs who, like him, got to their feet to voice their concerns.
Watching on the Parliament TV channel I counted a maximum of 30 MPs in the chamber at any one time - usually less - until more began to drift in ahead of the vote in the evening.
Talking of which, here are some observations on the voting:
Labour
The party’s 402 MPs were whipped to vote in favour of the Bill so, predictably, of those who voted every single one (317) voted aye.
Conservative
Just as she did at the second reading of Rishi Sunak’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill in April, the party’s new leader Kemi Badenoch voted against the Bill.
In total, and taking advantage of being given a free vote, 37 out of 131 Tory MPs voted against, with 23 voting in favour. However, almost half the parliamentary party (59) didn’t vote.
Clutching at straws, at least the majority of those who did vote voted against, but the proportion who didn't vote at all is pretty shameful. So much for a party that once promoted freedom of choice and personal responsibility.
To their credit, three other shadow cabinet ministers voted against the Bill – Badenoch’s leadership rival Robert Jenrick, shadow secretary of state for justice; Andrew Griffiths, shadow secretary of state for business and trade; and Kevin Hollinrake, shadow secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities.
Against that, three shadow cabinet ministers voted in favour of the Bill – shadow chancellor of the exchequer Mel Stride; Victoria Atkins, shadow secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs; and Mims Davies, shadow secretary of state for Wales and shadow minister for women.
Worse perhaps were the many shadow cabinet members who didn't vote at all – Priti Patel, Chris Philp, James Cartlidge, Alan Mak, Ed Argar, Jesse Norman, Claire Coutinho, Helen Whateley, Laura Trott, Gareth Bacon, Stuart Andrew, Alex Burghart, Andrew Bowie, and chairman of the party Nigel Huddleston.
I'm prepared to give Priti Patel the benefit of the doubt. She is, after all, shadow foreign secretary and may have been otherwise engaged. She also voted against Rishi Sunak's bill.
But the rest (including former leadership hopefuls James Cleverley and Tom Tugendhat who also failed to vote)? Spare me.
The new leader has a hard job reforming this illiberal bunch of turnips.
Liberal Democrat
Two weeks ago the Scottish Liberal Democrats’ conference backed a motion opposing a generational ban on the sale of tobacco. Sadly, the party’s MPs failed to follow that example, with 38 (out of 72) supporting the Bill, and just seven voting against. Credit, though, to those magnificent seven, one of whom was former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron.
Reform
Party leader Nigel Farage was in the chamber for the second reading of the Bill, but only briefly. For some reason he didn’t speak, and nor did he vote, presumably because the vote clashed with the programme he presents on GB News. C’est la vie.
To their credit however the other four Reform MPs - Richard Tice, Lee Anderson, Rupert Lowe, and James McMurdock - all voted against the Bill. McMurdock was also one of the few MPs who intervened to make a point.
Other parties
All four Green MPs voted for the Bill.
Seven of the nine Scot Nat MPs voted in favour including Stephen Flynn, leader of the parliamentary party. The other two didn’t vote.
All four Plaid Cymru MPs supported the Bill.
Two of the five Democratic Unionist MPs voted in favour (the other three didn’t vote); likewise the sole Ulster Unionist MP (Robin Swan), and the Traditional Unionist Voice MP (Jim Allister).
Fourteen (of the 15) independent MPs also voted for the Bill, notably Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell, Rebecca Long-Bailey, and Richard Burgon (all former Labour MPs who were once members of Corbyn’s shadow cabinet).
The Bill will now proceed to the Committee stage, where amendments will be considered. These could include raising the age of sale to 21 instead of a generational ban, but it’s unlikely to succeed because too many MPs love to parrot the line that the UK is a “world leader” in tobacco control.
Pity we’re not a world leader in civil liberties.
The worry is that amendments could be introduced at the Committee stage regarding even stricter outdoor smoking regulations.
After the Committee stage (rumoured to be two days in January) the Bill will return to the House of Commons for the third reading before heading off to the Lords where a cabal of anti-smoking peers lie in wait with, potentially, amendments of their own.
After that the Bill will return to the House of Commons for final approval, but - significantly - only after Royal Assent has been given will there be a consultation to consider the exact nature of the outdoor smoking bans the Government has been empowered to introduce.
That’s right. As I understand it, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill gives government (now and in the future) the power to extend public smoking bans to almost any outdoor space without the inconvenience of further legislation.
That’s the direction of travel and it’s clear that the UK is not only sleepwalking to prohibition, but most MPs either welcome it or have chosen to sit this one out.
See also: 47 lions (Chris Snowdon)
PS. One of the Conservative MPs who voted for the Bill is someone I once worked for.
When I found out he had voted for Rishi Sunak's Tobacco and Vapes Bill in April I sent him a note: 'I can't believe you voted for the generational smoking ban!'.
He didn't reply.
We've been sending each other Christmas cards for 40 years. I'm not sure I will be on his list (or he mine!) for very much longer.
Reader Comments (2)
The APPG was originally called the All Party Parliamentary Group on Action and Smoking and Health. The name was later changed, presumably because the original made it too obvious who was behind it.
Corrected.