The majority of Brits think that this Labour government is anti-fun and is interfering too much in their lives. Banning smoking and disposable vapes and raising taxes will only reinforce this view and could push them to support Reform UK.

The Adam Smith Institute commissioned JL Partners to undertake a representative poll of adults in Great Britain.

The polling showed that over half of Brits think that Labour are anti-fun and anti-personal freedoms. The majority of voters think that Labour “loves to ban things that people enjoy” and that it “interferes too much with their daily lives”.

The government’s plans to ban smoking and disposable vapes, alongside their tax hikes on the hospitality industry, could reinforce these negative opinions on Labour and current beliefs that Farage better understands working people. As the polling demonstrates, Reform already poses a serious threat to Labour, and those Labour 2024 voters who are now considering voting for Reform are particularly likely to think that this government is attacking working people and has too much say over our personal freedoms.

These findings also show that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill is not a priority for voters. They care about the Cost of Living, Healthcare and NHS, and Immigration.

With these findings in mind, the Government and the Department for Health and Social Care should reconsider their plans to ban cigarettes and disposable vapes, and focus instead on the issues which matter fundamentally to most voters.

KEY FINDINGS:

Reform pose a threat to Labour

- Labour are already losing 7% of their voters to Reform UK

- 1 in 5 Labour 2024 voters say that they have become more likely to vote for Reform at the next election

- Voters think that Farage is more ‘fun’ ‘tells it how it is’ and better ‘understands working people’ compared to Starmer

Labour is seen as anti-working people, anti-fun and anti-personal freedoms, especially by those who have either switched to or are considering voting Reform

- Almost half (44%) of Brits think the government has too much say over our personal freedoms

- A majority think that Labour ‘loves to ban things that people enjoy’

- Over half also think that Labour ‘interferes too much with people’s daily lives,’ ‘is not supporting British pubs,’ and is ‘trying to bring in a nanny state.’

- 6 in 10 voters think that this government does not understand working people

- 6 in 10 of those who considering voting Reform say that this government is actively attacking working people

- Reform ‘considerers’ overwhelmingly say that the government has too much say over personal freedoms

- Reform is seen as being the most fun Party - but there is a room for any Party to take ownership of that title

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is not a priority to voters

- The smoking ban is one of the issues in the King’s Speech least prioritised by voters

- Voters rank the Cost of Living as the greatest issue facing Britain, with Healthcare/the NHS and Immigration ranking second and third

- More than half (55%) say that the government is banning things like vapes because that’s easier than tackling the difficult problems facing the country.

The Government is undermining its own public health goals

- 49% of Brits believe that Vaping is as bad or worse for your health than smoking cigarettes, compared to 33% who think that it is better and comes with fewer health risks

However

- The majority think that adults should have the freedom to choose vaping over smoking

- The majority also think that we shouldn’t do anything to undermine the NHS prescribing vaping as a way of quitting smoking

- 6 in 10 agree that a ban on cigarettes and vapes would mean more people using products from the black market

- The majority think that banning a generation from smoking is not the best way to reduce the overall number of smokers

Brits think that tax is too high

- 8 in 10 say that tax in the UK is too high in general

- People think that tax is generally too high

Maxwell Marlow, Director of Public Affairs at the Adam Smith Institute, said:

“The British public clearly thinks that the government is trying to regulate the fun out of their lives- whether it’s by banning cigarettes and disposable vapes or not supporting our pubs.

And yet at the same time by attacking, taxing and over-regulating quitting aids like vapes, the government is undermining its own health goals by effectively telling people that they are just as bad for you as cigarettes.

Voters don’t think that any of this is a priority- and they rightfully want the government to focus on the things that really matter to them. Rather than acting like the anti-fun police, the government should fully concentrate on what they have repeatedly said is their number one mission: growth.”

Tum Lubbock, Co-Founder of JL Partners, said:

"With an NHS in crisis and Europe going through a reckoning on its own defence, what we heard from voters on the tobacco and vapes bill was 'why are you doing this?' This legislation was almost at the bottom of the list of priorities voters have.

What would really give me pause as a government minister is the 55% of the public who said that the government is is banning things like vapes because that’s easier than tackling the difficult problems facing the country rather than because it is the right thing to do – numbers that are exactly the same for the key group of voters who are considering switching from Labour to Reform. This really feeds into a sense that is on display in this polling which is that a large majority of the public – 6 in 10 – think the government is attacking working people, the literal opposite impression from the one the Keir Starmer project has been built on. If you leave voters with that impression then they will, as we have seen and as this polling shows, find other parties to support.

Keir Starmer is in a race for popularity with Nigel Farage and at the moment this data shows that Nigel Farage is the preferred choice for Prime Minister in more than half of constituencies vs the Prime Minister. That extends to 1 in 10 of those who actually voted Labour last year who now say that Nigel Farage would be a better PM than the man who actually holds that office – Keir Starmer."

Polling methodology:

The Adam Smith Institute commissioned JL Partners to poll a nationally representative sample of GB adults:

The fieldwork dates were 13th to the 21st February 2025.

Sample of 6,049 GB Adults

Data was quota-ed and weighted to be representative of Great Britain on age, gender, region, education, general election vote, ethnicity and political attention

Sample collected using online panel

Survey length: 20 minutes

Margin of error: 2.2%

JL Partners used “Battleground Seats” to refer to those where Labour are currently projected to lose to Reform UK or those where Reform UK are a close second to Labour.

JL Partners defined ‘Reform Switchers’ as Labour 2024 voters who are now voting for Reform UK. They defined ‘Reform Considerers’ as Labour 2024 voters who are now considering voting for Reform UK.

‘Smokers’ were defined as someone who had smoked at least one cigarette in the last month.

‘Vapers’ were defined as someone who had vaped at least once in the last month.

Notes to editors:

For further comments or to arrange an interview, contact press@adamsmith.org | 0758 477 8207.

For any questions about methodology and data extraction, contact Tom Lubbock, Co-Founder of JL Partners | Tlubbock@jlpartners.co.uk | +447748 597823

The polling is available in the Research section of the ASI's website

The Adam Smith Institute is one of the world’s leading think tanks. It was ranked first in the world among independent think tanks and as the best domestic and international economic policy think tank in the UK by the University of Pennsylvania. Independent, non-profit and non-partisan, the Institute is at the forefront of making the case for free markets and a free society, through education, research, publishing, and media outreach.

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