Rishi Sunak has suffered a further blow to his authority as almost half of his own MPs refused to vote for his plan to make it illegal for anyone born in 2009 or later to buy tobacco products in the UK.
A total of 57 Tories walked through the no lobby on Tuesday evening, while 106 abstained or were absent – meaning that of 347 sitting Conservatives, just 178 (51%) backed the bill.
