Thread by @tom_watson

Here's a long thread on where Boris Johnson currently stands on the sugar tax, obesity and pandering to the regressive right...

1) Let's start with the statement sent to journalists last night. In it Johnson calls for a review of “sin taxes” including the sugar tax, proposals for a milkshake tax, and the ban on energy drinks for the U16s.

2) He also has a special treat for his champion out-riders at The Sun with a few exclusive words championing their "Hands off our grub" campaign.
thesun.co.uk/news/9423742/b…

3) Johnson says he wants the review to look into how successful the “sin stealth taxes” have been into changing behaviour and whether they disproportionately affected poorer consumers. (we’ll come back to this later)

4) But this is an interesting line: “Once we leave the EU on October 31, we will have a historic opportunity to change the way politics is done in this country. A good way to start would be basing tax policy on clear evidence.”

5) So let’s look at the “clear evidence”. This from Sustain: “The sugar levy has taken 90m kg of sugar out of drinks in just the first year, reduced sugar by 11% compared to the voluntary industry sugar reduction average of 2%.
sustainweb.org/news/jul19_bor…

6) “…and has raised £340m in revenue in Yr1 which has been invested in physical activity, breakfast school clubs and the Healthy Pupils Capital Fund.”

7) Or we could have it in the words of Health Secretary Matt Hancock, now a keen supporter of Johnson.

8) But wait you say, wasn’t it Boris Johnson who when Mayor of London pioneered a sugar levy in City Hall.

9) So, apart from pandering to the regressive right among the Tory leadership electorate, why else would Johnson have such an acute flip-flop? Let’s take a look at his friends, allies and supporters…

10) Johnson’s campaign is being run by Crosby Textor. Here’s Sir Lynton Crosby’s business partner Mark Textor condemned sugar taxes in 2016 article. (h/t @SamCoatesSky)

11) Or, as @TheTimes points out today, there’s Will Walden, one of Johnson’s advisers, who is employed by the lobbying firm Edelman, which works for Coca Cola.

12) Nor forgetting the work of the “grassroots”campaign of People Against Sugar Tax run by Alex Deane, Tory lobbyist who got Johnson involved in leave.EU, pro-smoking advocate Chris Snowdon and others including Rees-Mogg’s sister Annunziata.
talesfromthesouthbank.wordpress.com/2016/08/21/peo…

13) So a cynic might suggest that the shadowy forces of the global food and drink conglomerates, like Coca Cola, are leveraging heavily into the Johnson campaign.

14) Yet all the evidence points to the fact the sugar tax is working, the vast majority of sugary drinks firm simply reformulated, with health benefits far outweighing the negligible financial impact on families.

15) But if we do want to talk about helping the poorest in society, maybe Johnson’s £10bn tax gift to the rich is not the best place to start.
businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-…

16) And while we are discussing the news of the day and priorities for the next PM, here’s the front page of The Times.