THREE pubs a week will close if Sir Keir Starmer bans outdoor smoking, warn trade bosses.
But, confirming yesterday’s Sun exclusive that he is considering a ban, PM Sir Keir Starmer insisted it is for the good of the nation’s health.
But punters landlords and politicians warned his clampdown would be a hammer blow to the hospitality industry.
Starmer added: “My starting point on this is to remind everybody that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking.
“Yes, we are going to take decisions in this space, more details will be revealed, but this is a preventable series of deaths and we’ve got to take action to reduce the burden on the NHS and the taxpayer.”
Pint and cigarette-loving Reform UK MP Nigel Farage waded in to the row, also saying a ban could spell the end of pubs.
Analysis from the British Beer and Pub Association claimed a ban would see an extra 800 venues go to the wall in the next five years — equivalent to three a week.
The trade body says applying the 6.4 per cent closure rate suffered after the 2007 indoor ban to Sir Keir’s proposals would see 2,900 pubs shut within five years compared to the projected 2,100.
Hospitality UK chair Kate Nicholls warned: “A ban on smoking in outdoor spaces comes with the prospect of serious economic harm to hospitality venues.
“You only have to look to the significant closures we saw after the indoor smoking ban to see the potential impact it could have.
“This ban would not only affect pubs and nightclubs, but hotels, cafes and restaurants that have all invested significantly in good faith in outdoor spaces and continue to face financial challenges.”
Pubs are still reeling from the impacts of Covid and spiralling energy costs.
The number shutting shop increased to 80 a month in the first quarter of 2024 — up 51 per cent on the year before.
Inda Pubs chair Clive Watson branded the policy “a bonkers idea”.
Chris Jowsey, boss of Admiral Taverns which runs more than 1,600 pubs, called it “ill-thought through”.
Mr Jowsey added: “A pub is the last community asset left standing in many communities.
“Anything that undermines their ability to survive and grow their business is a bad thing.
“Will we have to employ people to patrol beer gardens to make sure nobody’s smoking? It seems a bit nuts.”
Mr Farage said he would never go into a pub again if he could not spark up.
He said: “It is not nanny statism, it’s authoritarianism.
“It is, ‘I know what is best for you and you will damn well do it, and what I’m going to do is take your legal activity and make it illegal’.”
A YouGov poll last night found 58 per cent of adults support a ban compared to 35 per cent opposed.
The ban would also apply to areas outside universities, hospitals, kids’ playgrounds and small parks.
Others questioned how easy it would be to implement.
Ex-Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel said: “Asking the police to enforce this at a time when Starmer is releasing dangerous criminals on to our streets is beyond stupid, it borders on the negligent.
“This needs to be reversed immediately before it endangers our retail sector and the safety of our streets.”
The Tories’ Shadow Business Secretary Kevin Hollinrake vowed: “We will do all we can to oppose.”
Sir Keir faces accusations of hypocrisy after his first speech as PM promised to lead a government that “treads more lightly on people’s lives”.
Pressed on that yesterday on a visit to Paris, he insisted it was about getting the right balance.
Dr Layla McCay, of the NHS Confederation, said: “It’s the leading cause of preventable illness in the UK.
“So, we are heartened to see that progress is being made and that the intention is moving forward to really address one of Britain’s main drivers of health inequalities.”
Anti-smoking charity ASH supported the plans, but warned: “It’s also important to ensure there are still outdoor areas where people can smoke in the open air, rather than inside their homes.”
By Gray Gibson
FAST food and alcohol could be next if the Government bans pub garden smoking, a top doctor has warned.
Ex-director of WHO’s Cancer Programme Prof Karol Sikora said: “If we banned any harmful habit, we’d be living very boring lives.
“Where do we draw the line? Alcohol? Unhealthy food? Driving? Contact sport? Why even bother leaving the house at all? If someone is having a cigarette a few tables away, you are not in any danger.”
Reem Ibrahim, at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: “The Government’s own impact assessment concluded it will lead to pub closures.”
And Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin called the proposed smoking ban a “libertarian issue”.
