PM Rishi Sunak has hinted the government’s ban on bogof deals could be suspended or scrapped, amid pressure from Tory backbenchers.
Having already delayed the introduction of the proposals until October, Sunak told the House of Commons yesterday that “no final decision” had been taken over whether the ban would come in as planned.
Pressure has been growing from rightwingers who claim the policy is “nanny state”, with MP Philip Davies yesterday saying it was “bonkers” to bring the policy in at a time the country was still struggling with its worst cost of living crisis in decades.
He described the idea as a “socialist landmine” that had been inherited from Boris Johnson.
Sunak said he was taking objections “seriously”.
“After I took office, given the concerns he and others had raised about the impact on the cost of living, we already have, as he knows, postponed the introduction of this policy.
“No final decisions have been made, but I will continue to take what he says very seriously in all our deliberations.”
There were reports earlier this week that Downing Street would be going ahead with the plan despite backbench unrest. The government delayed the introduction planned for last October but went ahead with a ban on HFSS promotions in prominent store locations.
Yet the latest intervention will raise industry hopes the scheme may be delayed or scrapped.
Industry sources said they had all but given up hope of the ban being delayed or scrapped, with retailers already having made preparations. Some such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco have already stopped bogof deals.
However, opponents to the ban point to the Department for Health’s own assessment, which says banning the promotional deals will only reduce daily intake by a maximum of four calories – the equivalent of a single grape – while households miss out on an annual £634 saving.
Head of lifestyle economics at the free market thinktank Institute of Economics Affairs Christopher Snowdon said: “The government’s own impact assessment predicts banning these deals will reduce calorie consumption by the equivalent of one grape a day.
“When Public Health England looked at it in 2015, they concluded it could cost households £634 a year and that consumers use these offers as a ‘coping mechanism’ during periods of high inflation. Repealing this policy at a time when food inflation is at nearly 20% has to be the biggest no-brainer in British politics today.”
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