Dozens Of Tory MPs Oppose Smoking Ban As It Clears First Commons Hurdle

Rishi Sunak's plan to ban smoking has cleared its first House of Commons hurdle, but not without around half of Conservative MPs failing to vote for it.

On Tuesday night, 57 Tory MPs voted against the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, including business secretary Kemi Badenoch, while 106 including House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt abstained. 178 Conservative MPs voted for the legislation. Conservative MPs were given a free vote meaning there will be no disciplinary action for those who did not support the government. 

Former Cabinet ministers Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick, both regarded as potential candidates to lead the Conservative party in the future, voted against Sunak's plans.

Because Keir Starmer's Labour and other opposition parties voted for it, there was no realistic chance of the Prime Minister suffering a defeat, but the scale of Tory opposition to the bill will be seen as yet another blow to Sunak's authority.

PoliticsHome reported on Monday night that Tory MPs with objections to the legislation in its current form plan to push for changes later in the legislative process.

Under the bill, which Sunak announced at Tory party conference late last year, nobody currently aged 15 or younger will be able to legally buy cigarettes at any point in their lives. The government will do this by raising the legal age one year every year until it is phased out altogether across the population, subject to parliamentary approval. 

The plan to outlaw smoking is one that the Prime Minister feels strongly about, and on Monday his official spokesperson urged MPs to consider the "enormous benefits" of doing so in remarks defending the move.

"We would encourage MPs to recognise the enormous benefits to the health and wealth of the