We need more Kemi Badenochs

On Tuesday, parliament voted for the first time on legislation to begin the phasing out of smoking (not just cigarettes, but cigars, shisha, you name it), and to create a two-tier legal system where some adults will be able to buy these products, and some won’t. Although the ban seems popular with the public, it has become a lightning rod for Tory MPs, who see it as a shibboleth for how conservative they and their colleagues are. Westminster-watchers are, inevitably, seeing it through the lens of a future leadership contest.

The vote was free – that is, not one where members of Parliament were whipped to vote with the government. Ministers could follow their conscience. The highest profile ‘no’ was Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch. She was the only member of cabinet to vote against the smoking ban, and one of only a few ministers to.

Badenoch is, aside from the smoking vote, bound by collective ministerial responsibility, and yet has managed to inveigh on everything from a High Court order backing the