Rishi Sunak’s ban on youngsters smoking cleared its first Commons hurdle last night despite a swathe of Tory MPs objecting to it.
MPs voted 383 to 67, majority 316, to give the Tobacco and Vapes Bill a second reading.
The legislation, seen by the Prime Minister as a key part of his long-term legacy, would make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born after January 1 2009.
It does not criminalise current smokers but aims to create a “smoke-free” generation.
Conservative MPs were given a free vote on the Bill meaning those who opposed the Government’s position will not face punishment.
The division list showed 57 Tory MPs voted against, while 178 voted to support it.
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Among those voting against were Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, former home secretary Suella Braverman and ex-PM Liz Truss.
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt was among 106 Tory MPs listed as having “no vote recorded”.
Not all those listed in this way will have abstained, as some will have received permission to miss the vote.
However it has been reported that Ms Mordaunt was wavering in her support for the Bill.
In the Commons, Ms Truss claimed the ban is the result of a “technocratic establishment” aiming to “limit people’s freedom”, and described the Bill as a “virtue-signalling piece of legislation”.
In a warning to Tory colleagues, Ms Truss said she was “disappointed” that a Conservative Government was bringing forward a smoking ban.
She claimed there were enough “finger-wagging, nannying control freaks” on the opposition benches willing to support the proposals, urging Conservatives to “stand by our principles and our ideals”.
Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said she understood colleagues’ concerns about freedom of choice, and conceded Conservatives were “not in the habit of banning things”, but warned the Commons there was “no liberty in addiction”.
She added: “Nicotine robs people of their freedom to choose. The vast majority of smokers start when they are young, and three-quarters say that if they could turn back the clock they would not have started.”
