Oliver Dean is a contributor for Young Voices UK. He studies History and Politics at the LSE, where he is the Treasurer of the LSE Hayek Society. He is also a former intern at the Institute of Economic Affairs.
As the King’s Speech made clear, Sir Keir Starmer is committed to passing Rishi Sunak’s generational smoking ban into law. But while Labour may well have more than 400 MPs lined up to support this legislation, the Conservative opposition still has a role to play – especially if they have any hope of ever returning to government.
The Tories must use this period in opposition to remember what it truly means to be conservative. As Party heavyweights such as David Lidington have pointed out, “opposition gives [the] Conservatives time to reflect and think”, which is a “luxury rarely available in government.”
It’s a long road back to becoming the natural party of government, and it begins with changing their policy on the generational tobacco ban. Indeed, if you told anyone that for the last 14 years the Conservatives were following an instruction manual on how to govern as conservatives, they would most likely assume it was being read upside down.
Under their government, the British public were paying the highest tax burden since the Second World War – this from a party that prides itself on cutting taxes for working people. They had failed to secure their position on economic stability after the failed experiment of Liz Truss, which saw interest rates soar and the pound plummet to an all-time low against the dollar.
They had even struggled to maintain proper control of our borders, with more than 100,000 illegal Channel crossings taking place since 2018.
But the Tories can find their way back – and it starts by reversing their stance on the tobacco ban.
Nobody is denying the damage that smoking causes in terms of lives lost, and few dispute the financial strain it puts on the NHS. In 2019, there were an estimated 74,600 deaths attributable to smoking, which is estimated to cost the NHS roughly £2.5 billion annually.
The question for the Conservatives, however, is whether supporting an outright ban is the way to get these numbers down – and the answer is no.
Every strand of Conservatism, from One Nation to Thatcherism, puts the individual at the centre of everything. Freedom is valued above all else. As such, it is unconservative to support the imposition of a generational smoking ban.
The way to get these numbers down, therefore, is by preserving the individual’s ability to choose. This will treat the British public like the reasonable adults they are and reaffirm the individual’s freedom to smoke if they choose.
The Tories should, for example, support the imposition of systems which promote a nudge-theory approach to smoking. There is evidence to showcase that this has worked in the UK before.
From late 2008, it became mandatory for picture warnings to be placed on tobacco products. It only takes one look at the statistics to the major health benefits that came from this. Smoking deaths dropped by nine per cent from 2009 to 2019.
The writing is on the wall: smoking rates decrease if the public are presented with a choice.
In terms of a specific policy, the Conservatives could look towards pro-vaping educational commitments. A report published by the Institute of Economic Affairs found that electronic cigarettes are “95 per cent safer than combustible tobacco products and are twice as effective as traditional nicotine replacement therapies.”
The Tories should call for a reduction in taxes on electronic cigarettes, which would see them more accessible for consumers. This could prompt those who smoke to use electronic cigarettes as an alternative to traditional tobacco products, thereby reducing tobacco-related deaths and providing a safer alternative.
Nobody can predict when the Tories will next be in power. If they get their act together, they could return in 2029. If they don’t, then we could be waiting until 2034 or even 2039.
What we can predict, however, is that if the Tories do not change their stance on policies like the tobacco ban, they will never return to power. When the British public votes for the Conservative Party, they expect them to rule as conservatives. What they don’t expect is for the Tories to infantalise the public and take on the role of a glorified nanny.
As the smoke of the election clears, the Tories’ are left with an obvious choice. Become proper conservatives and oppose the smoking ban, or face decades in the political wilderness. If I were a Tory MP, I know what my decision would be.
