How the Tories gave up on liberty

Rishi Sunak stood glowering over a school table and listed, with disdain, the flavours of the vapes that lay on the table in front of him. ‘Grapefruit,’ the Prime Minister declared. ‘Bubblegum. Strawberry. Berry Burst.’ Pupils at Haughton Academy were then invited to express their own disgust: ‘Bright colours,’ observed one student. ‘Appealing to younger people,’ said another.

‘Do you think that’s right?’ the Prime Minister asked the circle of 13- and 14-year-olds. ‘No,’ they dutifully answered. Sunak told the students, in a video posted to his Instagram account, that the ‘good news’ is that he is announcing a full ban on disposable vapes and a crackdown on packaging and flavours that might be particularly popular with the young.

What he failed to mention is that the vapes he brought in for show-and-tell are already illegal for children to buy.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will, in addition to restricting vapes for adults, make it illegal for anyone born after January 2009 to purchase cigarettes. The ban could also apply to cigars, shisha, tobacco pouches and heated tobacco products. It’s expected to come to parliament this month, and – given the wide support for the ban across all major parties – there is a chance that it will be passed without serious debate.

The plan was first announced by Sunak at Conservative party conference last year. It was strange timing – the Leader of the House, Penny Mordaunt, had just called on party activists to ‘stand up and fight for the things upon which the progress of humanity depends: freedom’. But it seems people have been enjoying some freedoms a bit too much. Too many people choose cherry-flavoured vapes for the government’s liking.

It’s difficult to take away established rights and legal products from adults who already enjoy them.