Opponents of plain packaging for cigarettes are trying to work out how to derail the vote in the Commons introducing the law, Coffee House has learned.
There is considerable frustration in the party that plain packaging is being introduced so close to the election, as MPs feel it is a distraction from the campaign. Other Tories still think it betrays their values as a party. I understand that MPs are considering tabling a motion that calls for the packaging policy to be extended to anything that is vaguely bad for health, including alcohol and sugar-rich food such as Frosties. This is of course to make a point rather than because the MPs have suddenly decided that Andy Burnham is right.
Nick de Bois, a member of the influential 1922 Committee executive, is also trying to persuade Chancellor George Osborne to delay the measure to minimise the risk to the Treasury of successful legal action from cigarette companies trying to protect their brands. He argues that not giving the legislation more time is a risk to the public purse and that the British government should copy the New Zealand government in waiting until a court case in Australia concludes.
The opponents of the legislation will have to work out how to deploy their delaying tactics as the measure is being brought to the Commons as a Statutory Instrument, which therefore cannot be amended. MPs can either pass the measure or vote it down, and with Labour supporting the government on this, it will pass, even with a sizeable rebellion on the Tory benches. They are currently trying to find other devices to halt its progress.
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