Plans to change pub opening hours have caused a rift in the Labour Party a day after they were proposed at the party conference in Liverpool.
Sir Keir Starmer visits a pub to discuss impact of Covid-19 (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir Starmer has slammed the rumours he could close pubs early as “nonsense”.
The Prime Minister quelled reports the Government was considering new measures to target harmful drinking.
Speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, public health minister Andrew Gwynne said the government is considering “tightening up the hours of operation” of bars and pubs as part of an attempt to improve health and combat anti-social behaviour.
Meanwhile L abour is looking to ban outdoor smoking in an effort to curb preventable deaths and alleviate pressure on the NHS.
The proposal would impact small parks, pub gardensand, areas outside hospitals, nightclubs and sports venues.
The hospitality industry warned it would damage venues already struggling since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has called for a “national debate” about the prospect of banning smoking outside pubs.
A restriction is being considered by the Government as part of a range of measures which will be set out shortly, he said.
Ministers are examining what can be done to help smokers quit and to “deal with the scourge of second hand smoke and passive smoke,” he said.
“We definitely want to see smoking phased out in our country, we committed to that in our manifesto,” Mr Streeting told Sky News.
“We want to make sure this generation of children are the healthiest generation that ever lived and therefore they will never be able to legally buy cigarettes.
“We are looking at a range of other measures to also help people who are currently smoking to quit and also to deal with the scourge of second-hand smoke and passive smoking, which is also harmful. We’ll be setting out our proposals on that shortly.”
Asked if he will ban smoking outside pubs, he said: “Look, that’s one of the measures that I’m considering, and I’m up for a national debate on this issue.
“We have got to do two things – reform the health service, but also reform public health, because we might be living longer, but we’re becoming sicker sooner and there is a heavy price being paid for that in our economy, our public finances and in our own health.”
