As prime minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak is well aware that his tenure may be limited unless public sentiment dramatically changes.
However, he is the driving force behind a new smoking strategy that has garnered significant support from across political parties and is expected to bring about an important societal shift.
It will be what some in politics refer to as a legacy.
Last fall, Mr. Sunak unveiled his intentions in what he dubbed “the biggest public health intervention in a generation.” He was describing the government’s attempt to push a social change gently forward– the elimination of smoking.
Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said on Tuesday that the idea is to spare thousands of young people from addiction and early death as well as saving billions of pounds for the NHS. She expressed optimism that a generation free of smoking will be created.
This is only the beginning of the legislative process; a few more steps are required before it is enacted into law.
Almost sixty Conservative members of parliament rejected Mr. Sunak’s proposal.
One of them is the minister of cabinet, Kemi Badenoch.
Nearly a hundred more chose not to participate. Penny Mordaunt, a government minister, was one of them. Many things bother her about it, like implementing it and overseeing its execution.
Some are predicting that they will both become leaders of the Conservative Party.
Looking at the figures, it’s clear that over half of the Conservative MPs could not support even one of their leader’s most prominent proposals from the last six months, which tells about the Conservative parliamentary party’s turbulent temperament.
When governments successfully adopt policies that align with a society’s current trajectory, the power of legislation may propel them forward significantly and, perhaps, indefinitely.
It seems that this idea may be one of them.
