Council planning
Thursday, November 1, 2018 at 8:08 As I’ve already mentioned, despite being over 2,000 miles away, it wasn’t possible to escape work completely last week.
The Pinderfields hospital story rumbled on from the previous week and I had to do a number of BBC radio interviews from my hotel in Turkey.
I was also invited to go on Good Morning Britain (ITV) but couldn’t do it, obviously. Actually, I think I dodged a bullet because the response on Twitter to Dave Atherton, who took my place, was unremittingly hostile.
Another story I was asked to comment on concerned proposals to ban smoking in al fresco dining areas in Jersey. The Jersey Evening Post has the story with a quote from me.
Expect to see similar proposals put forward in the UK. Smoking in social housing is also under threat, in Scotland at least.
Some people however are remarkably complacent. The attitude appears to be: the government has no plans for further anti-smoking legislation in this parliament and is reasonably positive on vaping, so what’s the problem?
The reality is that the net is tightening on smokers all the time and the issue is not central government but local authorities - Sheffield, Manchester, Barnsley to name a few.
Later today I’ll have news of one council’s revised smoking policy that should concern not just smokers but vapers as well. Watch this space.
Reader Comments (2)
The persecution of smokers is the vanguard of the new temperance movement. The relentless antismoker propaganda and draconian restrictions and smoking bans must be stopped and choice restored.
That's why the cowardly Conservatives gave the power to bully smokers to councils. It removed responsibility, and voter backlash, from Tory govt decision making and gave it over to small minded councillors many of them smokerphobics with far too much power who can often do nothing about big issues nationally but love welding power over lesser humans. Being able to abuse and discriminate against smokers gives the bullies a lovely warm glow.
The problem is there is no protection in law from bullying at work, hatred, discrimination or social exclusion for people who smoke and haters love having a minority group, no longer even seen as human, to abuse.
Govt should offer the same protection as other minority groups but it won't. What next? Prison camps?
Jersey, by the way, shows the world what a bunch of rank hypocrites rule it. I noticed on my holiday there this year that all outdoor public attractions such as castles, were non smoking in the open grounds (something I ignored btw) and at Gorey Castle, there was a whole room dedicated to Sir Walter Raleigh. There in full glory is a painting of him smoking a pipe. So Jersey despises smokers and yet glorifies and celebrates the man who bought tobacco here. What utter hypocrites.