UK politics live: Priti Patel says four-day week would have ‘devastating impact’ as smoking ban faces backlash
Priti Patel attacks Starmer for seeking to make ‘fewer places where you can smoke’
Dame Priti Patel has warned Labour’s four-day week plan would be “devastating” for businesses as she launched her Conservative leadership campaign in London.
The former home secretary criticised Sir Keir Starmer’s speech in the Downing Street Rose Garden on Tuesday this week as “one of the most feeble, pitiful and dishonest speeches you will ever hear”.
She also accused Sir Keir of launching a “nasty financial assault” on pensioners with the decision to cut winter fuel payments.
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer faced backlash for moving a £100,000 portrait of Margaret Thatcher in No 10 Downing Street because he found it “unsettling”.
The portrait controvercy has drawn sharp criticism from Conservative MPs, who branded his decision as “petty” and a “vindictive” act.
The prime minister hinted at a potential smoking ban in outdoor spaces like pub gardens.
Speaking in Paris, he confirmed changes to smoking laws are under consideration, with details to be revealed soon. But the move has sparked concern among hospitality groups over potential negative impacts on the sector.
The potential new Tobacco and Vapes Bill also caused cabinet tensions with Business Department officials warning that the move could create financial challenges for the industry.
‘Disgraceful:’ Public fury as Tory MP uses Holocaust poem to attack smoking ban
Smokers ‘heroes of the nation’, says Nigel Farage as he lights up cigarette near Downing Street pub
‘Kick in the teeth’: Pub landlords say Starmer’s garden smoking ban would hit industry hard
Starmer hopes Scholz and Macron can help him soften Brexit – but is his strategy doomed to fail?
COMMENT | Doesn’t the prime minister realise smoking outside pubs is the best thing about Britain?
I’m not somebody who cries ‘nanny state!’ every time a new rule is introduced, writes Ryan Coogan. But if Keir Starmer can ban us from sparking up in beer gardens, then where does it end?
Doesn’t Starmer realise smoking outside pubs is the best thing about Britain?
Starmer removes Thatcher portrait from No 10 sparking Tory backlash
Sir Keir Starmer has removes a portrait of Margaret Thatcher from No 10 Downing Street, according to biographer Tom Baldwin.
The portrait, commissioned by Gordon Brown in 2009, was displayed in the room once used by Ms Thatcher, now known as the Thatcher room.
Baldwin revealed that Sir keir found the portrait “unsettling” and agreed to remove it when asked.
The decision has drawn criticism from Conservative MPs, who accused him of “pettiness” and a lack of respect for historical figures.
The painting, created by Richard Stone and costing £100,000 was the first of a former prime minister to be commissioned in No 10.
Some Tories viewed the removal as a slight against Thatcher’s legacy, with MP Greg Smith calling it a sign of disrespect.
Murdo Fraser, a Scottish Tory leadership candidate, also said: “It seems like a churlish move, but perhaps Sir Keir Starmer was intimidated by the gaze of a world-renowned leader whose achievements he will never come close to matching.”
Despite the controversy, the PM recently acknowledged Thatcher’s role in bringing “meaninful change” to Britain.
‘Disgraceful:’ Public fury as Tory MP uses Holocaust poem to attack smoking ban
A social media post by Conservative MP Esther McVey has been branded as “repugnant” by the Board of Deputies of British Jews for likening the Labour government’s proposed smoking ban to the Holocaust.
The MP for Tatton took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share Martin Niemoller’s 1946 poem “First They Came”.
The poem includes the lines: “Then they came for the Jews. And I did not speak out.”
However, the former cabinet minister for common sense ended her version with a twist: “Pertinent words re Starmer’s smoking ban.”
In response, the Board of Deputies of British Jews condemned the Tory MP for her choice of words, and dubbed her social media stunt as “repugnant” and “breathtakingly thoughtless”.
The Board said in a statement: “The use of Martin Niemoller’s poem about the horrors of the Nazis to describe a potential smoking ban is an ill-considered and repugnant action.
“We would strongly encourage the MP for Tatton to delete her tweet and apologise for this breathtakingly thoughtless comparison.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting responded to Ms McVey with: “No, I do not think the postwar confessional of Martin Niemoller about the silent complicity of the German intelligentsia and clergy in the Nazi rise to power is pertinent to a Smoking Bill that was in your manifesto and ours to tackle one of the biggest killers.”
He added: “Get a grip.
Rabbi David Mason, executive director of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality, said: “Tasteless. Utterly tasteless. How can you not see that?”
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