Spluttering Boris is the one who’s ‘nuts’ if he thinks the public are with him on the smoking ban

It is ‘just mad’ that the ‘party of Winston Churchill’ wants to ban cigars and smoking, chunters the former prime minister. But if he thinks anyone other than Tory MPs will agree with him, he’s deluded, writes John Rentoul

More than half the British people support a total ban on smoking, but the idea is unpopular among Tory MPs (PA)

The prime minister is already in trouble with his Tobacco and Vapes Bill, introduced in parliament last month. Around “80 to 100” Conservative MPs are unhappy with the plan for a gradual smoking ban.

It is a rule of thumb for Commons rebellions that only about a quarter of that number might eventually vote against the government, but if another quarter abstain, that would mean that Rishi Sunak would have to rely on Labour votes to get the law through.

Naturally, therefore, Boris Johnson has come to the prime minister’s aid. He told a conference in Canada that he hoped that the Conservatives could “turn things around in the next few months”. His contribution to this effort was to point out some of the “absolutely nuts” things “being done in the name of conservatism”.