When Rishi Sunak announced his plan to create a ‘smoke-free generation’ at conference, some of his own MPs were bemused. It wasn’t just the policy but the timing – were the Tory grassroots the right audience? In truth, Sunak had been in a rush to make the announcement because he feared (and some of his advisers had warned) that if he didn’t do it soon, Labour might beat him to it. So there was little surprise when in Keir Starmer’s first King’s Speech, the bill was resurrected. However, now Starmer and his Health Secretary Wes Streeting plan to go further than Sunak planned.
The bill was initially designed to phase out all smoking and make it so anyone born after 2009 could never legally buy cigarettes. However, the Sun reveals that ministers want to strengthen the legislation and use it as a vehicle by which to bring in an outdoor ban on smoking in a variety of places. This could include beer gardens, outside restaurants, outside football stadiums, outdoor spaces at clubs and on pavements. It could also include small parks, hospital grounds and university campuses. Starmer has not denied this is under consideration, telling the BBC when asked that his government is looking at banning smoking in some outdoor places.
There has already been a backlash. Reform’s Nigel Farage has threatened to never enter a pub again if this becomes a reality while Robert Jenrick – the Tory leadership candidate – has said this will be damaging to pubs and hospitality. Even figures in the business world agree, with pushback on the grounds that it could hurt hospitality when the industry is already struggling.
Will the warnings be heard? There was always a risk that a Labour government would be tempted to go further than the Tories when it comes to the ‘nanny state’ and personal liberties. As opposition leader, Starmer was asked if he minded his policies being labelled ‘nanny state’ and replied: ‘I’m absolutely up for that fight.’
Within the Labour parliamentary party, there is unlikely to be a huge amount of opposition. Look at the Tories on the smoking ban under Sunak – only a handful of MPs rebelled. What’s more, Labour could go even further. One of the risks of Sunak’s smoking ban was that it set a precedent on health policy where things could be banned at a certain age always. The fact that the Tories championed it makes it easier for Labour to take steps cracking down on smoking more generally and it is plausible that this could be extended to fast food and alcohol consumption in the future.
Starmer’s argument is smoking costs the NHS – and therefore the taxpayer – a lot of money so a crackdown is justified, The same argument could of course be applied to obesity and alcohol damage. The question is whether the Tories and Reform can provide effective opposition – many of these measures tend to poll favourably with the public at large. For the Tories, that means making arguments in favour of personal liberty that have been largely missing the past year.
Listen to Katy discuss Labour’s smoking ban on the latest Coffee House Shots episode:
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