Sir Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting have been left red-faced after a flagship plan to ban smoking outside pubs has reportedly been dropped because of opposition from the struggling hospitality industry.
It’s understood the PM and Health Secretary have had to call time on the measures which they had trumpeted as an idea to improve public health.
Proposals leaked earlier this year suggested the Government would ban smoking in some outdoor areas, such as outside pubs, restaurants, stadiums and hospitals
However, it’s reported Downing Street has blinked before imposing the new ban after it was feared it could lead to more pub closures in an industry already reeling from high energy costs and food prices.
The Times reported last month Wes Streeting was having ‘second thoughts’ over the iniative, and The Guardian said Downing Street is now blocking the ban on outdoor smoking, citing one official who called it an “unserious policy”.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage had already spoken out against the Labour plans, saying they would be “the end of pubs”. His sentiments were echoed by Conservative leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick, who said: “The last thing this country needs is thousands more pubs closing.”
UKHospitality, the trade body for the sector, had said a ban would have “serious economic harm to hospitality venues” and The British Beer and Pub Association said the plan was “deeply concerning and difficult to understand” and represented “yet another blow to the viability of our nation’s vital community assets”.
A Government source said no official decision has been made before The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which expected to be introduced to Parliament before Christmas.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said earlier this week that Labour’s smoking bill will be “more ambitious” than the bill introduced by the previous Conservative government.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill tabled in the last parliament sought to prevent anyone born after January 1 2009 from legally smoking by gradually raising the age at which tobacco can be bought.
Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of the charity Action on Smoking and Health, told the Times: “Given the commitment in the King’s Speech to legislation it has been concerning to see little public progress.
“Outdoor smoking restrictions are important to debate and could help more people avoid harms from second-hand smoke and help those quitting smoking to avoid relapse.”
In August, Sir Keir Starmer said of smoking as a habit: “My starting point on this is to remind everybody that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking. That is a preventable death, it’s a huge burden on the NHS and, of course, it is a burden on the taxpayer.”
