London, UK

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's flagship bill aimed at banning smoking appears to be shelved after he called a surprise July general election as there's not much time for bills to be made into law. 

Advertisment

Sunak on Wednesday (May 22) announced that the general election will be held on July 4, after months of speculations over the polls. 

In a Downing Street statement, Sunak said he had spoken to the head of state King Charles III and requested the dissolution of parliament. 

Also read: UK parties launch campaigns as Sunak surprises with early election; Nigel Farage opts out 

Advertisment

"The king has granted this request and we will have a general election on July 4," he said. "Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future." 

The dissolution of parliament means that the government would not guarantee the passing of the bill. The Parliament will be adjourned for the election on Friday.

Hence, the government and opposition parties are currently discussing which laws to rush through before the adjournment. 

Advertisment

Also read: Zelensky claims Russia taking advantage of its 'lack of air defence' by launching brutal strikes 

Sunak's ambitious plan included introducing some of the world's strictest anti-smoking rules in Britain. He wants to ban anyone aged 15 and under from ever buying cigarettes. 

The ban was not specifically mentioned as being on the parliamentary agenda in the next few days, but one can expect it to be in the Conservative manifesto. 

Watch: Poland buys US radar systems 

×

On Thursday, Penny Mordaunt, the House of Commons leader, did not list the smoking bill in the business scheduled to be debated before parliament shuts down for the election. 

She said cross-party negotiations were ongoing over the future of bills not included in the schedule.

Dozens of lawmakers in Sunak's Conservative party voted against it but despite that, the bill had passed its first parliamentary hurdle in April.   

"I will do everything I can to move these things forward, but it is dependent on the cooperation of other parties across parliament as well," Sunak said on Thursday. 

(With inputs from agencies)